Meeting the Requirements
by Lemondropx
Summary: "I asked to go to a place where I'd be safe, a place where I'd be comforted. A place where I'd be able to relax and be happy" she stated while smiling.     "And the room brought you here?" he asked, his eyes sparkling out of happiness. "I suppose it did."
1. Meeting the Requirements

Chapter 1 – Meeting the Requirements

Hermione stormed through the corridors of Hogwarts, a passionate rage surging through her veins. '**HOW DARE HE**!' she mentally screamed. '**HOW DARE HE CHEAT ON ME WITH THAT TWO-FACED, GOOD FOR NOTHING, ROTTEN LITTLE TART**!'.

It was a year after the War and Hermione had returned to Hogwarts to complete her education and was made Head Girl. She was the only one out of the Golden Trio to return for her final year, although Ron had promised her that being apart wouldn't change the way he'd feel about her.

What a lie that turned out to be. She had just taken a short-cut through one of the secret passageways on the 7th floor to her Charms class, when she walked in on Ron and Lavender in a passionate embrace, sucking eachothers faces off.

Hermione couldn't control her shocked scream and Ron had tried to say that he had turned up at school to surprise her but was giving Lavender first-aid training. Hermione got a surprise all right, it just wasn't the one she had been expecting.

After listening to his pathetic excuses she took off and started running through the hallways, not caring if she was missing charms class. Not caring if anyone saw her running away like a scared child. Not caring if she looked a mess.

She had just lost Ron, her first proper boyfriend in the most horrible way possible. She didn't even realize she was crying until her tears blurred her vision so much she could no longer see.

She leaned against the closest wall and sunk to the floor, feeling completely heartbroken and defeated. As she wiped away her tears she noticed where she was.

She recognized the wall she leaned against and felt the solid wall behind her transform into a wooden door. She was at the Room of Requirement.

'Perfect' thought Hermione and she opened the door and scrambled inside. The room she was in was beautiful. It was a large room, with lots of windows that let the sunlight stream in with warm wood panelling on the walls, two red velvet plush couches, a roaring fireplace and lots of built in bookshelves.

She felt relief wash over her instantly as she realized she had a place she could finally relax, a place she could let out all of her emotions and nobody would see or hear her. Or so she thought.

"Granger? What are you doing here?".

In that moment her blood ran cold and she held her breath.

She didn't even notice that Draco Malfoy was sitting on one of the couches reading a book infront of the fireplace. He looked troubled. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his hair hung messily over his eyes.

He wore a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt which showed off his muscles under his school robes, and he was staring at Hermione.

"Granger? What are you doing here?" he asked again seeming really confused.

"I-I-errr...it's the room of requirement?" she said stupidly and mentally slapped herself. Why was she so flustered?

"Precisely. I came here to relax. So why are you here?" he asked in a cold and cutting tone of voice.

"Shove off Malfoy. If I'm such an inconvenience then I'll leave!" she turned to leave but suddenly felt a hand on her wrist that pulled her back.

"No, I'm sorry. That was rude of me. Stay" although it was meant as a question it came across as a demand. He could see that she was visibly really upset and didn't have the heart to send her away. Then a thought crossed his mind – one that puzzled him greatly.

"Why are you skipping class?" asked Malfoy. Her honey brown eyes burned with anger at this question.

"That's none of your business. Why are you?".

"Ah no, no, no lets not change the subject here". She grew more irritated and pulled her hand away and folded her arms across her chest and looked away.

Draco stared at her, a million thoughts running through his brain. She looked as though she'd been crying. Her eyes were puffy and red, her hair was messed up and she was biting her bottom lip to keep herself from crying again.

Although she sort of looked like a mess, Draco thought that she'd never looked prettier. Her eyes burned with such intensity that it made her honey-brown eyes look like liquid gold. Wait – had Draco Malfoy just thought Hermione Granger looked pretty? Wow. He guessed he did.

But he focused on the bigger picture. Something was clearly wrong. He had never seen Hermione look like this, not even when she punched him in 3rd year, and she was furious then. Also the fact that she was skipping class was not a good thing.

"Granger whats wrong?". At this question Hermione ditched her tough girl attitude and crumpled to the floor, letting out heart wrenching sobs and letting her tears flow freely.

Draco had no idea what to do. He couldn't just let her sit there and cry! For some reason he wanted to comfort her...but no, that was ridiculous, she was Hermione Granger!...But was it really so ridiculous?

She and her friends had saved his life last year...maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he was kind to her. 'But just this once' he added mentally.

To her surprise she felt the ground disappear beneath her as Draco scooped her effortlessly into his arms and carried her to couch.

He placed her down gently and transfigured a box of tissues out of thin air for her. She took a handful and recommenced her crying.

Draco moved a bit closer and said "Granger? What's wrong? Grang-" and then it dawned on him that if he was going to comfort her then he had to talk to her as a friend and so for the first time ever he said her name.

"Hermione?".

She looked up at the sound of her name, completely shocked. He had never called her by her first name before.

"Hermione-" he said it again. Her name sounded nicer coming from him than Ron. When Ron said it, it sounded like it was a chore for him to say her long name. But when Draco said it, it made her heart melt.

"Hermione whats wrong?".

When he asked her like that, she couldn't hold in her feelings any longer.

She spilled her heart out to him about Ron and as she did, Draco couldn't stop his fists from balling up in anger. '

THAT LITTLE WEASEL!" screamed Draco inside his head. "HOW DARE HE! Here he's got this beautiful - wait did I just call Hermione Granger beautiful? Oh, guess I did. She's beautiful, smart and so loyal! Why would he do that to her?' fumed Draco.

When she was done she found herself sitting a lot closer to Draco for some reason and she realized that the long couch they had been sitting on before had changed to a loveseat.

The room of requirement really is a weird thing she thought.

"Hermione, can I ask you a question?" he asked while not meeting her eyes.

She nodded, she found that she liked speaking to him. He was a good listener.

'Wait, did I just think something NICE about him?' thought Hermione. 'Wow I guess I did. And he's not bad to look at either - wait. No. Bad Hermione' she scolded herself for thinking like that.

He looked at her in the eyes and her heart melted a bit, 'his eyes are so beautiful!'.

"Why did you come here? To this room?" he asked.

Hermione thought for a second before replying.

"I asked to go to a place where I'd be safe, a place where I'd be comforted. A place where I'd be able to relax and be happy" she stated while smiling.

He smiled too.

"And the room brought you here?" he asked, his eyes sparkling out of happiness.

"I suppose it did" she admitted with a shy smile.


	2. Dance with the Devil

**A/N: Enjoy the second chapter of Dramione my lovelies! **

- Chapter 2: Dance with the Devil -

Hermione walked through the corridors of Hogwarts, on the way to McGonagalls classroom for what was sure to be the most awkward hour of her life.

It had been a week since she found Draco in the Room of Requirement. A week since she had poured her heart out to him and she he had comforted her. A week since they had shared such amazing chemistry. A week since she had started avoiding him.

As she walked through the corridors she realized how utterly messed up her brain was.

For the first time since she had been on her quest to find the Horcruxes with Ron and Harry, Hermione Granger was completely confused.

On the one hand she had Ron - her first boyfriend. Her first love. And a complete and utter arsehole.

She had been through so much with Ron. So much. She had known him since they were 11 years old and loved him since they were 13!

He had been the sunshine in her life for so long and now that sun had been covered by a big, dark, monstrous thunder cloud in the shape of Lavender Brown. She knew that she should just forget about him. Get over him somehow. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't! Deep down she still love Ron. And she realized that a part of her always would.

On the other hand she had Draco. She didn't like avoiding him. In fact she hated it! She was only doing it because she was so confused!

She liked that he comforted her. She liked that he listened. But most of all she liked that she could be herself around him! Not once did Draco ever tell her to 'stop crying'.

He had just held her and told her reassuring things. He let her look like a mess, cry her eyes out and vent her feelings, and not once did he ever ask her to stop or not be herself.

But no matter how much she liked all of these things about him, she couldn't help but be reminded by a sobering fact.

THIS WAS DRACO MALFOY. This was her childhood enemy! This was the boy she had punched in the nose! This was the boy she and her friends had laughed at and called 'Ferret'! This was the boy that killed Dumble- No she couldn't think about that. He had never wanted to kill their beloved Professor.

It almost brought a tear to Hermiones eye as she thought about Dumbledore. Draco had never wanted to kill him. He was forced into it by Voldemort - by the Darkness. Hermione knew he was only going to do it to save his family - but did that make it right? As she approached the classroom she wondered if she would have done the same thing in his shoes - Kill someone to save the people you care about most.

But for now Hermione had to push those thoughts away. She had to mentally prepare herself for what she was about to endure.

Dance lessons.

Yes, dance lessons. As was tradition, the school was having their Halloween Ball and since it was the first one after the War, McGonagall and the teachers wanted it to be perfect and amazing.

So they had taken all of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th years out of their free periods one at a time to teach them how to dance the classic dance steps.

Although Hermione loved to dance, she was dreading this.

Knowing her luck right now, she'd get stuck with Draco and then the awkwardness would start. Also depending on what dance they were learning, they would have to switch partners meaning that she couldn't avoid him any longer.

Sure enough, when she walked into the room McGonagall greeted her and paired her with Draco instantly. As Head Boy and Head Girl they had to set an example of 'House Unity' and 'Friendship'. What they were really setting an example for was 'how to create the biggest awkward moment imaginable'.

Draco smiled and bowed when he reached Hermione. Always the gentleman. 'Not really' thought Hermione. 'He's only doing it because it's the polite thing to do' she reasoned.

He held his hand out to Hermione, offering it to her.

"Shall we dance Hermione?" he asked with a crooked smile. Hermione's heart melted a little bit when he said her name. It sounded so perfect whenever he said it!

But she hesitated as she looked at his offered hand. She had been avoiding him for a week and now she was expected to dance with him? This wasn't exactly going to help her sort through the jumbled mess in her brain.

"Come on little Lion, I don't bite" he teased, still with his hand outstretched towards her.

She was hesitant, but slowly reached for his hand and placed hers in his.

His hand was warm and as he led her into the centre of the classroom to join the other couples he placed his right hand on the small of her back and pulled her close to him. Perhaps a bit too close.

She could feel his breath on her face, and it smelled like Spearmint toothpaste. Something that Hermione absolutely loved. Her head was started to feel dizzy and so she looked away from his eyes and placed her hand on his shoulder.

McGonagall started the music and instructed the students how to perform a basic Waltz.

Hermione ofcourse needed no instruction, she'd been doing this dance since she took dance lessons when she was six. And to her surprise neither did Draco.

While the rest of the couples were still on the first step, Draco jumped forward about fifty and began leading Hermione around the room and twirling her inbetween steps.

To say Hermione was shocked was putting it mildly. Although her expression was nothing compared to that of her classmates. Everyone stared at the couple with jaws hitting off of the floor - including Lavender. Hermione glared at her as Draco led her past her and she thanked Merlin that Ron and Harry were not here to see them. They would surely hex Draco into oblivion.

McGonagall was thoroughly impressed and sent Draco and Hermione to the other side of the room to practice other dances while she kept the other students to finish teaching them the dance that they had mastered in seconds.

Hermione didn't like being so isolated from everyone else as Draco led her to the other side of the room. Although they were supposed to practice other dances, they kept with the waltz and moved silently around the other end of the room.

Draco was the first to speak.

"So, you've been avoiding me" he stated. It was meant as a question but came across as though he were stating a fact. And it was. She had been avoiding him. Although she wasn't expecting him to be so forward about it.

"I er- I ummmm...errrr..." Hermione struggled with her words as she looked into his grey eyes. It was amazing how flustered he made her! "I've had a lot of homework!" she blurted out. In her mind she slapped herself repeatedly. 'Hermione, you are the worst liar imaginable' she told herself.

Draco heard this and smirked.

"Homework hmm? So that's why you've been avoiding our common room like the plague is it?" he asked. As Head Boy and Girl they had to share a common room. They had their separate rooms but to get to them you had to walk through the common room. This was also true. She knew Draco spent a lot of time there and avoided it as much as possible.

"I've been in the library" she blurted again. At that moment she wanted nothing more than for the floor to swallow her up and end this awkward and embarassing nightmare.

"Mhmmm" replied Draco, still with the smirk on his lips. "So who's taking you to the Halloween Ball might I ask?"

"Nobody. I'm not going" she responded, not looking him in the eyes. This was a lie. Someone had asked her - Cormac McLaggen. He had cornered her earlier in the week outside of Potions class and asked her. She had made something up about having a mild form of Spattergroit and ran away as fast as possible.

"Nobody asked you?" cried Draco in an incredulous tone of voice. This bamboozled the Hell out of him. Hermione Granger, Hermione-with-the-honey-eyes-Granger,Hermione-with-the-honey-eyes-and-beautiful-curls-Granger had not been asked? This defied all logic in his opinion.

"Yes" she stated simply, still avoiding his disbelieving gaze.

"Go with me!" he blurted.

"What?" she looked at him and could only stare as she tried to comprehend what he had just said. If she went with him, and Harry and Ron found out, she would never hear the end of it. She would be isolated, cut off from her friends.

Besides, they were a Gryffindor and a Slytherin! This was asking for trouble!

"I don't have a dress!" she said, trying to find an excuse. Draco smiled.

"I can take care of that" he said, a mischievious sparkle playing in his eyes.

"I don't see how! The ball is tomorrow night and the only thing my Mum will be able to send is a horrible Orange dress from home and I don't have enough money to buy something! I know it's Halloween, but nobody should have to wear orange! I'm not going!" she insisted.

"Oh yes you are. I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall at 7pm" and he bowed, kissed her hand and left the classroom.

Hermione stared after him, unaware that the full hour had passed and the dance lesson had finished. She stood in the empty classroom and looked around. McGonagall smiled and nodded her head at Hermione.

'Has she just heard everything we spoke about?' cried Hermione in her mind and when McGonagall grinned, Hermione blushed and fled from the room.

By the time Hermione returned to the Common Room it was late. She had just been to see Hagrid and then had gone to the library to kill some time. Although she was now going to the ball with her old childhood enemy, Hermione still felt the need to avoid him. 'This is ridiculous' Hermione thought as she said the password for the Heads common room and walked in. Draco was no where to be seen to Hermiones disappointment so she climbed the stairs to her bedroom.

She had been worrying all night about what she was going to wear. She refused to wear that orange dress that her mother would no doubt send her. She hated that dress, it made her look like a pumpkin and did not flatter her toned and curvy figure at all.

But when she reached her room and opened the door she found a surprise waiting for her.

On her bed lay a large garment bag with a single red rose with a black ribbon tied around on top.

Hermione was intrigued and placed the rose on her bedside table, admiring the way it glowed in the candle light of her room and opened the garment bag. She gasped when she saw what was inside.

It was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. It was all silver and the straps were silver lace and sat just off the shoulder. Hermione couldn't decide which was more stunning, the bodice or the skirt. The bodice looked almost like a corset, and was silver with black diamond studs all over it, giving it a very edgy yet still elegant look - perfect for Halloween.

The skirt was also silver and hung in large rufflied tiers. Hermione wasn't going to lie, she was dying to wear this dress and was already planning how her makeup would look when a thought hit her: 'Who sent it?'.

She found a note inside the garment bag and she smiled while her heart melted when she read it.

"Nobody should have to wear Orange".

Hermione hung the dress in her closet and sat down on the bed, a million thoughts running through her brain.

Maybe she'd have a good time! Maybe she and Draco should be friends. Maybe, this how things were supposed to be. Maybe this was right.


	3. Beautiful Stranger

- Chapter 3: Beautiful Stranger -

Hermione woke up on Saturday morning with excitement rushing through her veins. If you'd have told her a year ago, or even two weeks ago that she'd be excited for a night with Draco Malfoy - then she probably would have laughed in your face.

But as she sat up in bed and looked at the Rose that sat on her bedside table, she smiled. She was actually going to the Halloween Ball, with someone she liked! She didn't think she'd ever be this excited about a date after Ron, but when she looked at the dress and got butterflies in her stomach she imagined herself wearing it, and couldn't wait to go to the Ball.

Wait - was this a date? Hermione was stumped for a second as she thought about it. If she was thinking of things as a date...does that mean she liked Draco as...more than a friend?

No, she couldn't possibly. The thought of it was ridiculous! But was it really?

Her heart did do little flips whenever he was around. She did get incredibly flustered when he touched her and she'd be lying if she said that she didn't find him attractive at all. His hair was always slightly messy and hung in his eyes, giving him a really rugged, sexy look - oh Merlin, she just called Draco Malfoy sexy. Ok, she admitted it to herself, he was sexy. Especially with those eyes! And the muscles! And th- 'Ok Hermione stop this right now' she told herself.

She shook her head to silence the thoughts and made her way to the bathroom that connected her bedroom with Dracos. She knocked on the door to check if he was in there but when she heard nothing she opened the door and found the room empty.

She was happy about this, it means she could have a nice long and relaxing shower before heading down for breakfast. She took her time and made sure to use every single body lotion and shampoo with a nice scent that she could get her hands on. Once she was done she stepped out of the shower and dried herself and pulled on a pair of jeans and a purple sweater.

She then looked in the mirror and stared at her reflection, wondering what on earth to do with her hair. She dried it quickly with a spell and luckily for her it wasn't bushy today. Her curls hung gently around her face and down her back and she thanked Merlin that out of all the days for her hair to look perfect, it was this one.

She didn't bother with makeup, deciding she was going to take her time and do it properly tonight for the Ball instead.

She skipped through her room and down the stairs to the Great Hall for breakfast, singing a little song to herself as she went.

"Somebodies happy this morning" remarked Ginny as Hermione took a seat at the Gryffindor table across from her. Ginny eyed Hermione carefully, curiosity evident in her brown eyes.

Hermione had been a wreck since Ron had cheated on her a week ago. And ever since she'd been acting shifty, constantly looking around for something or someone.

Having had Fred and George for older brothers, she knew when something was trying to hide something or when they were up to something. And having had a few boyfriends in her time, Ginny knew when someone was completely head over heels for a person.

Could Hermione have found someone else already? There was one easy way to find out.

"Come on then, spill the beans. Who is he?" asked Ginny in a very straightforward and curious tone of voice.

Hermione choked on her toast and began to cough violently. Ginnys suspicions were confirmed.

"Gin-Ginny, why wo-would you think I had som-someone so soon after Ron?" asked Hermione inbetween coughing fits.

"Because you look like you're about to go skipping through a field of daisies!" cried Ginny as Hermione blushed a violent shade of red.

"Give it a rest Gin..." she mumbled as she took a sip of pumpkin juice.

"Not until you tell me who this bloke is that's got you on cloud nine!" insisted Ginny. Hermione loved her to pieces, and she was glad that she had Ginny around now that Hermione was back at Hogwarts by herself. But Merlin, could Ginny be observant. And when she noticed something and she wanted to find out what was going on, she could be the most persistent and nosy person on the planet.

"No one Gin, just drop it ok?" asked Hermione in a pleading tone of voice. She knew she should probably tell Ginny about her and Draco - was that how she was referring to them now? - but she couldn't bring herself to. In truth, she was scared of what Ginny would think. So for the time being she was going to be the opposite of a Gryffindor. She was going to be a coward and not tell Ginny.

"Alright, ok! I guess I'll find out tonight at the Ball" said Ginny in a thoughtful voice as she wondered who the mystery man could be.

Hermione choked for the second time that morning.

She had not thought that Ginny would see her and Draco at the Ball together. 'Crap! What am I going to do?' cried Hermione to herself. 'If Ginny sees me and Draco there together tonight then I'm beyond screwed!'

"Actually no it may be a bit difficult...we're supposed to wear masks right?" she asked.

Relief washed over Hermione.

"We are?" she asked as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well duh Hermione, it's Halloween! Although I think it's optional. I'm wearing one she said with a smile.

"Oh, that's good...that's good" Hermione said as she finished the rest of her breakfast, feeling much better.

"So are we getting ready together?" Ginny asked her friend as she finished eating her eggs.

"Ofcourse we are! I need your help with my makeup!" said Hermione while she smiled. She was happy they were moving on to another topic of conversation.

"Well lets get going then!" and the two girls left the Great hall walking arm in arm up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower where they would get ready in Ginnys room. The excitement was buzzing through Hermiones veins again as she climbed the stairs with Ginny. Hermione admitted it to herself. She couldn't wait to see Draco Malfoy.

"Hermione! Hermione we need to go it's almost 7!" cried Ginny from the top of the stairs. She was wearing a long, plain black strapless mermaid styled dress. Her red hair was curled and it fell around her shoulders and down her back. She had dramatic smokey eye maku-up and she looked stunning. Who ever her date was, was a really lucky guy.

She was holding her mask and standing by the door to her bedroom as Hermione put the finishing touches on her eye makeup. She had different shades of silver and grey on her eyelids to compliment the dress, with black eyeliner and a thick coat of mascara. Her curly hair was pinned to the side and hung in an elegant pony tail over her shoulder, the same as it had been for the Yule Ball in her fourth year.

As Hermione turned around to face Ginny, her friends jaw dropped.

"Wow Hermione you look...hot! I mean it! You seriously do!" cried Ginny as Hermione blushed and picked up her clutch bag off of the bed.

"Thanks Gin, you look pretty amazing! Who's the lucky guy?" asked Hermione as she and Ginny walked down the stairs to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Just Dean" said Ginny in a nonchalant tone of voice, as if it was normal to go to a Ball with your ex boyfriend.

"Does Harry know about this?" enquired Hermione, suddenly sounded like a fun sponge.

"Ofcourse he does silly! He's the one that suggested it! Seeing as people from outside the school aren't allowed to come, he wanted me to have a good time and go with someone I knew. I was going to ask Neville but he and Luna are already going. And I heard that Cormac was going to ask you" she turned and gave a cheeky grin to Hermione.

"It's not Cormac is it?" asked Ginny.

"What? Oh bloody hell no!" yelled Hermione.

"Alright, alright calm down. I'll find out who it is" said Ginny with a sly smile playing on her lips.

The girls reached the top of the stairs that led into the Entrance Hall and Hermiones eyes began scanning the crowd for a pair of blue-grey ones.

Draco's breath caught in his throat when he saw her standing at the top of the stairs. She looked incredible in the dress, even better than he thought he would. He sent a silent thanks to that French designer that his mother knew so well who had sent the dress to him by floo powder when he had asked for it.

Everything about her looked amazing. The dress. Her hair. Her makeup. Everything. The dress really showed off her figure and it surprised Draco to see that underneath the baggy school robes and Muggle clothes that she wore, she had an amazing body. It was curvy in all of the right places and perfectly toned.

Her slightly tanned skin glowed in the candle light as she descended the stairs, still scanning the crowd for him.

He admitted to himself that he liked the fact that she was looking for him. It wasn't every day a beautiful girl like her was looking for you.

He moved away from where he had been leaning against a wall and made his way through the crowd. When he reached her she had her back to him, still looking for him.

"You look amazing Hermione" he said and she turned around to smile at him.

Hermione couldn't believe how handsome he looked!

She had been standing at the foot of the stairs scanning the crowd for him when she heard his silky smooth voice behind her and turned to see him standing smiling at her.

He had his hair combed to the side and although he wore a mask, Hermione could recognize his eyes anywhere. His mask was a simple black one, that only covered the bridge of his nose and the area around his eyes - making him the perfect beautiful stranger to anyone who did not know his real identity.

The mask matched his long silky black dress robes perfectly and Hermione found that her outfit complimented his perfectly.

He offered his arm to her and said in a smooth voice: "Shall we?"

Hermione looked at him, all gentlemanly and kind. 'This is like something out of a Jane Austen novel!" she thought as she gushed with pride at the realization that this was her date to the Ball.

"We shall" she said with a glowing smile as she took his arm and the couple entered the Great Hall. As they walked together Hermione got the feeling that tonight was going to be such an eventful night. A night she would always remember. Oh how right she was.

**A/N: Thanks for reading everyone! Please leave reviews with your feedback and/or advice on how to improve the next chapter! (:**


	4. A Dementor's Kiss

**A/N: Thankyou so much for reading the last chapter Potterheads! I appreciate you being so patient, I know it took ages to be published and I'm sorry for that - I sent it to be validated on Saturday, so blame the website for taking so long :p I'm pleased to announce that from here on out, the chapters are going to get longer and more eventful ;) Enjoy the next chapter lovely readers (: **

- Chapter 4: A Dementor's Kiss -

Hermione and Draco walked into the Great Hall, arm in arm and Hermione tore her gaze from Draco's face to look at the sight before her. It took her breath away.

The decorating committee had definately out-done themselves this year.

The floor was covered in a haunting, ominous mist and round tables with black and silver table-cloths were dotted around the hall. Each table had a jack-o-lantern sitting on it, each with a different sinister face.

If Hermione had not seen it with her own eyes then she would not have believed it, but there were trees in the Great hall. Yes. Trees. Large Willow trees, like the kind you'd find in a Graveyard or in a horror movie were placed around the hall and looked as though they had been there for years. It gave the Hall the odd sense of being outside in the cool night air when combined with the layer of mist that covered the floor.

The space under the trees was cleared for dancing and Hermione laughed when she saw that McGonagall had pulled out all the stops and used her connections to book the Weird Sisters band which were now setting up their equipment on a raised platfrom in the centre of the hall.

Jack-o-lanterns and candles filled the air above the crowds that walked around the Hall. The Hogwarts ghosts were joining in the festivities too and were dancing and twirling through the air under the ceiling which, as always, was bewitched to look like the night sky, casting a glow over the room from the enchanted moon.

As Hermione and Draco looked around the Hall in amazement, one thing was clear. Halloween had come to Hogwarts.

As was tradition for a Ball like this, dinner was always served before the dancing and it was just as Draco was leading Hermione to a quiet table near the dancefloor, that Hermione heard her name being called.

"Hermione! Hermione over here!" cried Neville from a table underneath one of the Willow trees.

Hermione panicked slightly and looked to Draco for reassurance.

What was she going to say about Draco? She couldn't tell her friends that she'd shown up with their childhood enemy…could she? No. She definitely couldn't.

Draco froze for a second and turned to stare at Longbottom who was standing with the rest of Hermiones friends – Luna, Ginny and Dean.

He didn't particularly want to sit with them, but he knew it wasn't right to keep Hermione away from her friends.

He knew that under ordinary circumstances there was no way in Hell he'd be seen dead with them, but these weren't ordinary circumstances. He was at the Halloween Ball with Hermione Granger.

Two people who had hated eachother since they were eleven, two people who could not stand the sight of eachother before two weeks ago had shared something special in the Room of Requirement, and now they were beginning something new…friendship? Or was it something more?

Draco was not entirely sure, but he knew he was not ready to let Hermione go. He'd be damned if he wasn't going to put all of his effort into making this work, whatever this was. So, to Hermiones surprise, he swallowed his Slytherin pride and pulled Hermiones hand over to the table of Gryffindors and the Ravenclaw.

Into the Lion's den and into the Ravens nest.

Hermione's eyes bulged out of her sockets as he led her towards her friends and she was positive her heart was about to beat out of her chest she was so scared.

"There you are!" greeted Luna as the couple arrived at the table. By this point Hermione's palms were sweaty and she was clinging onto Dracos hand for dear life. Merlin, was she scared.

"H-hi Luna! Your dress! It's so...you!" cried Hermione, trying to be polite and cheery, when in reality she was trying not to burst out laughing and petrified all at the same time.

In all honesty, Luna's dress was the strangest thing Hermione had ever seen. Not only was it orange – Hermione's least favourite colour – and black, but it was…pretty – in an unusual way.

The top of the dress was black and had little orange pumpkins over the bodice and short puffy, see through orange sleeves. It was a scoop neck dress, and a large orange pumpkin hung from a black chain around Luna's neck and Luna wore matching pumpkin earings. The skirt of the dress was particularly interesting and had the same colour scheme as the top of the dress – black and orange. It hung in shreds of fabric and reached just above Lunas feet, which were sporting orange stilleto heals. To top it all off, Luna wore an orange pumpkin mask, very similar to Dracos in the sense that it only covered her eyes.

Hermione was right in what she said, the dress was so 'Luna'.

"Thanks! It arrived by owl this morning. Ofcourse I checked it for Nargles and it was fine! That charm I really placed on my owl really worked I suppose!" said Luna with a dreamy smile on her face.

"Charm?" asked Hermione slightly confused, she didn't believe in Nargles at all but had never heard of a charm to prevent them.

"Oh yes! Nargles often intercept owls as the fly through the air, making their brain go fuzzy. That's why your post is late sometimes! It was in an article in the Quibbler" stated Luna in a far-away voice as she gazed around the room and up the ceiling.

'If it was in the Quibbler, then that explains everything' thought Hermione.

Neville smiled at his girlfriend and gave Luna a kiss on the cheek. Hermione thought it was nice that Neville accepted Luna for who she was, knowing that he couldn't ask for a more unique girlfriend than Loony Lovegood.

Neville wore simple black dress robes, not quite as fancy as Dracos, but still made him look very dashing. His dark hair was combed back and he too followed the trend with the mask and wore a black and silver one in the shape of a cauldron. He wore a big grin as he turned to Hermione and hugged her – who was too scared and nervous to properly hug him back.

"Hermione, you look stunning!" he said as he pulled away, still with a smile on his face.

"T-thanks Neville! You look great too!"

"Thanks! And who do we have here?" he asked as he turned to Draco, his hand reaching out to shake Dracos hand.

"Ye, who do we have here?" came another familiar mischievous voice. Ginny had popped up behind Neville and was leaning around his side with a sly smile as she locked her eyes onto Hermione and Dracos hands, which were still clasped together.

Hermiones mouth went dry and she began stammering, not having a clue what to say.

"Urrr- th-this i-is my friend! Y-ye my f-friend?" she finished it off as a question, looking to Draco as if asking him to clarify it.

"Oh really?" said Ginny in an inquisitive tone of voice, stepping around Neville and folding her arms across her chest. "And does your friend have a name Hermione?" she asked cocking one eyebrow and eyeing Draco suspiciously. Ginny knew something was…off. The way Hermione was acting. Something wasn't quite right.

"O-ofcourse! Umm this is…this is…this I-"

"Scorpius. Scorpius Hyperion" he replied in a smooth and charming voice.

"Scorpius eh? That sounds like a Slytherin name to me" replied Ginny in a tone of voice that showed just how skeptical she was and how much she disapproved of Hermione turning up with a Slytherin. Hermione knew that Ginny was smart, and although Malfoy had a mask that covered half of his face he still had the same shiny blonde hair and the grey-blue eyes that were irreplaceable. If Hermione didn't do something soon to distract Ginny, then she'd figure it out. And Hermione wasn't ready to lose her oldest friends just because she'd found a new one in Draco.

"Well Ginny, what lead you to believe I may be a Slytherin?" Draco cleverly dodged her question by answering it with a question. If Ginny found out that Hermione had turned up to the ball with a Slytherin she would surely pass out and then proceed to scream at her - giving even the most frightening Banshee a run for her money.

"Your name sort of hints at it" Ginny replied in an accusatory tone as she glared at him for dodging her question. Nobody dodges a question from Ginny Weasley. Something flashed through Ginnys eyes and Hermione realized what it was. She had seen the look before. Ginny had just figured something out.

"Hang on a minute, how do you know my name? I don't remember introducing myself" she asked in a critical manner, placing a hand on her hip and looking between Hermione and Draco.

Hermione expected Draco to crack then and there, but instead he kept his face calm and collected and smiled a breath taking smile that made Hermione go slightly weak at the knees.

"Come on now Ginny, Hermione has talked so much about you. And besides, who doesn't know who the famous Ginny Weasley is?" he asked in such a silver-tongued voice that Hermione was actually quite impressed. 'The devil can talk himself out of anything!' she mentally cried. 'He dances, he's kind, he's smart, he's charming and he's incredibly quick-thinking. Is there anything this boy can't do?' she thought, gaping at Draco slightly as he charmed his way onto Ginnys good side.

She blushed slightly and turned to Hermione with a shy smile. "I guess he's a keeper" she said and turned back to Dean and sat down at the her place at the table - flattered enough to completely forget about the possibility of 'Scorpius' being a Slytherin.

Hermione turned to Draco who had a smug smile on his face, proud of getting them out of that one.

Neville shook his hand looking slightly confused, obviously he was not as suspicious as Ginny was and saw no reason to be wary around him.

As the others turned to take their seats Draco followed but Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Scorpius Hyperion?" she whispered at him.

Draco shrugged.

"It didn't look like you were going to get us out of that one, so I had to say something otherwise we would have been in a spot of trouble wouldn't we?"

"I know that, but Scorpius Hyperion? Where did that come from?"

He gave her a small smile, and for a second she thought she saw a blush creep on to his cheeks. He looked away from her and began to fidget with his robes a bit. Hermione thought he looked uncomfortable, nervous and shy all at once.

"Well, I've always liked those names…I was thinking about calling my son that when I have one…" he trailed off and he looked back at her hesitantly.

He had never told anyone that before. And he didn't know why bringing up the topic of children with Hermione caused his heart to flutter and for the butterflies in his stomach to suddenly take flight.

Suddenly a beautiful image passed though his mind. Hermione twirling in circles in the grounds of Malfoy Manor, in the rose garden on a sunny Summers day with a little blonde boy in her arms. She was smiling and laughing and the sun caused her eyes to sparkle in the light, making him feel slightly breathless at the thought.

"Draco?"

He realized she'd been asking him something and snapped out of his day dreaming and back to the present.

She was looking at him as if expecting an answer or something.

'Focus Draco, focus. At least make it through the night without messing up before you start picturing her as the mother of your children!' he said to himself. And then shock hit him as he realized that's what he'd just been doing. He'd just pictured Hermione holding what he hoped to be their first child!

This was starting to get ridiculous. They weren't a couple and already he was beginning to imagine his life with her? Hell, they technically weren't even past the awkward stage of starting out as friends! He'd never done that with any body he cared about before…and then surprise hit him like a train when he realized what he'd just admitted to himself.

He cared about her. He cared about Hermione Granger.

He smiled to himself as he thought about this. What was this he was feeling? Could he simply care about her as a friend? Was this a powerful friendship that was forming between them or something more? Was this what people called…love?

He'd never truly known love before. It made him sad to admit it but he realized it was true. His parents had never particularly cared about him, they only took such a strong interest in everything he did to make sure he didn't let down the Malfoy family image! On top of that, they had never once considered his feelings when it came to arranging something for him - especially over the Summer...

As he looked into her big honey-brown eyes, filled with expectancy he decided that he wasn't going to push away these feelings he was feeling for her. He was going to embrace them. And if it turned out he did infact love her, then it made him happy that she was the one he would call his first love.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch what you said" he told her, taking in the way her perfectly smooth forehead furrowed and she frowned, causing her eyes to sparkle with annoyance. He knew she hated it when people ignored her or zoned out when she was speaking to them and he thought she looked cute when she was annoyed.

"I said do you want to sit down? The dinner is about to begin" she said, a hint of irritation in her voice. He had been standing in his own little world for the past few minutes just staring at her, and her friends and everyone around were looking at them. She didn't want to draw any more attention to them than necessary and was desperate for him to sit down, seeing as they were the only ones in the hall still standing.

He nodded, and took her by the hand and led her to her seat, pulling it out for her and then taking his place by her side.

Once they sat down menus appeared on their tables for each of them and Hermione took hers and scanned the options.

'Hmmm I could have the Vampires Venom – Lasagna with a dash of garlic or I could go for the Healthy Hippogriff – a fruit salad...the Vampire Venom sounds good, but it'll make my breath horrible for later. Probably not a smart option if he makes a move to kiss me goodnight' and then she gasped and blushed furiously when she realized what she'd just thought about.

'Me? Kissing Draco Malfoy? No, no bad bad bad Hermione!' she tried to tell herself. But it was no use. The image was in her head and it made a strange tingly feeling run down her spine as she imagined her and Draco, in their Heads dormitory, his hand caressing her cheek as he kissed her softly and then slowly more passionately, her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, his other hand running down the side of her bod-

"Hermione? Are you alright?" came Dracos voice from beside her and Hermione was broken out of her little fantasy and turned to look at him. He was looking at her with a slightly confused look. He had heard her gasp and then saw her blush and he had no idea why.

But when he asked her and she turned to look at him her blush only got worse and she turned away again quickly, suddenly becoming fascinated with the napkin that was on her knee.

"I'm fine" she said quietly, not able to meet his gaze. Merlin she felt awkward.

"What are you having then?" asked Neville from beside Hermione.

Hermione realized everyone else was waiting for her to order her food so that they could begin too.

"Urmm the Healthy Hippogriff" she said and watched as the food magically appeared on her plate.

Draco smirked when he saw that she had ordered the same thing as him. He knew that if he wanted to get close to her then he had to keep his breath nice and fresh for later. Had she been thinking the same thing as him when she ordered?

Everyone began to tuck into their food and Hermione and Draco stole glances at eachother as they ate. Neither one could wait for the dancing to begin.

The conversation over dinner was kept pretty general, mostly talking about classes, Quidditch, end of year exams, etc.

Hermione was grateful for this, it meant she didn't have to dodge questions about 'Scorpius' and the night would hopefully go by without anymore suspicious inquiries from Ginny or anybody else.

As dinner finished up, the Weird Sisters took to the stage and began to play the first song of the night.

Hermione was excited and she looked at Draco as she placed the last piece of fruit into her mouth and Draco held out his hand for her to take.

He bowed before her and smiled as he raised his head. He looked her in the eyes, his eyes sparkling with excitement and asked "Shall we dance Granger?"

She grinned and much to Dracos delight, her eyes sparkled with the same excitement as his.

"We shall" she said in a rather flirtacious voice and that was all the encouragement Draco needed to pull her gently by the hand and lead her to the dance floor only a few tables away.

As they approached it, to Hermione's surprise she recognized the song instantly as one of her favourites. It was a Muggle song.

It was called "I can't help falling in love" and it was so romantic it made Hermione's heart melt.

Draco twirled Hermione into his arms and the couple began to dance the waltz slowly and intimately, matching the speed of the music.

As she followed his lead and listened to the words of the song she couldn't help but think how much it fit her and Draco's situation perfectly.

"_Wise men say only fools rush in_

_But I can't help falling in love with you_"

This was so true. Hermione was not wise, and did not pretend to be. She knew that if her friends found out about her and Draco they would question it and tell her things were moving too fast between them.

But after what they had shared in the Room of Requirement, anything compared to that appeared to be too slow. In just minutes, she had seen another side of Draco she didn't know existed. She'd seen a more caring, compassionate, warm, friendly, understanding side she had never seen before and in truth, she couldn't help falling in love with it.

"_Shall I stay_

_Would it be a sin_"

She knew that eventually her friends would find out about them, but for the time being she didn't even want to think about it. Hermione had been questioning herself all week whether or not what was happening between her and Draco was right or wrong. Whether she should stay or go. But as Draco held her in his arms, she realized there was no where else she'd rather be than right here.

Hermione wasn't going anywhere. And she didn't care if it was wrong.

"_If I can't help falling in love with you_"

Hermione realized again that she was falling for Draco. And she couldn't help it. She didn't want to.

"_Like a river flows surely to the sea_

_Darling so it goes_

_Some things are meant to be_"

Hermione inched closer to Draco and rested her head on his shoulder as they danced, trusting him completely to lead her to where she was supposed to go.

When Hermione rested her head on his shoulder, Draco couldn't feel more content and turned his head to watch her lips form into a smile and close her eyes to savour the moment. His warm breath brushed against her neck, sending shivers of desire down Hermiones spine.

In that moment Draco and Hermione realized the exact same thing.

They knew why the Room of Requirement had brought them together that day over a week ago.

Draco had been looking for an escape, somewhere he could go to get away. He had had a rough day and wanted to be somewhere he could be truly happy.

Hermione had been looking for the same thing, wanting nothing more than to get away from Ron and Lavender.

They both wanted somewhere they could be happy, somewhere they felt safe, somewhere they could be themselves. And they had found that – in eachother.

Draco and Hermione both thought the same thing as Hermione lifted her head and gazed back into Dracos eyes, which were burning with the most passionate desire.

'Maybe this is meant to be' they thought.

"_Take my hand take my whole life too_"

"Draco?" Hermione asked in a slightly breathless voice as she looked into his eyes.

"Hermione?" he asked back. They were both wondering the same thing. Would it be a mistake right now if they kissed?

A cold and tingly feeling came from above and Draco and Hermione looked up at the same time to see a mini Dementor circling above their heads.

It was the decorating committees idea, and was the Halloween version of Mistletoe.

If it flew above your head and circled you, then you had to kiss.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh inwardly at the irony. For the past week, Draco had been Hermione's own personal Dementor. Causing her brain to be scrambled, her thoughts to be confused, making her indecisive about what she wanted.

But as the Dementor continued to cirlce around their heads Hermione couldn't be more sure of what she wanted. She wanted nothing more than to do what the Dementors were famous for. She wanted nothing more than to kiss Draco. Her own personal Dementor.

Hermione and Draco looked into eachothers eyes once more.

Hermione's burning with an intense passion making her Honey-brown eyes turn to liquid gold in Dracos opinion – never had she looked more beautiful.

Draco's were on fire with an immense desire, making his blue-grey eyes cause a snow storm of emotions to surge through her body.

Liquid-Gold meets Winter Night.

Fire meets Ice.

In that moment neither of them cared if the other felt the same way. Hermione and Draco knew how they felt about eachother. They had come to terms with it – accepted it.

As their heads moved closer together, their lips inches away from touching, both of them hoped the other wanted this as much as they did.

When Dracos lips touched Hermiones first, the kiss began slowly. But when Hermiones lips responded and moved under Dracos the kiss deepened and the passion grew slowly.

Hermione placed her arms around Draco's neck pulled his face closer to hers and in response he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her there.

"_For I can't help falling in love with you_"

As Hermione listened to the last line of the song her lips formed a smile under Dracos. This was right, this was meant to be, she wasn't going to deny it anymore. And neither was he.

If this wasn't either of their favourite song before, then it definitely was now.

Hermione and Draco could feel eyes on them as they continued to kiss eachother in the middle of the Great Hall, underneath one of the Willow trees, but neither of them cared.

They were in their own happy little world.

Nothing would ruin this for them.

Then their ears registered the most horrible sound and their night took a dramatic turn for the worse.

"**HEY YOU! GET YOUR HANDS **_**OFF MY GIRLFRIEND**_**!**"

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions when the next chapter is published :p Reviews make my day, and I get a lot of inspiration from them. So please leave some with your feedback! Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon (:**


	5. Slugs and Snakes

- Chapter 5: Slugs and Snakes -

Hermione's ears registered the voice, and it seemed somewhat familiar but she didn't take any notice of it. She was single now - or hopefully not for much longer with the way things were going with Draco - so she didn't need to worry about some jealous creep spoiling her and Draco's moment.

Just as Draco put his hand on the back of Hermiones neck and began tracing her bottom lip with his tongue he was torn away from her.

"AH! WHAT THE FUCK?"

The music had stopped and Hermione opened her eyes and took in the sight before her.

She let out a startled gasp and her hand shot up to cover her mouth.

She was wrong about not having to worry about some jealous creep destroying her moment with Draco.

Her **EX**-boyfriend was now rolling around the dance-floor aiming powerful punches into Dracos ribs.

Hermione began to run over to the two boys when Draco pulled his wand out from his robes and shouted "FLIPENDO" and Ron was thrown off of Draco and hit his head hard as it collided with the cold stone floor.

Hermione stood in shock for a second and then ran to Draco and helped him up. His bottom lip was burst and he was holding his ribs. Ron had managed to land a few good punches in the fight. But when she turned to Ron and saw what had happened after Draco jinxed him, she realized they were now even.

Ron tried to stand back up and after touching the back of his head, an angry snarl escaped his lips when he saw blood on his fingers. He had hurt his head pretty badly from the impact.

"THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR!" Ron shouted angrily and began to advance on Draco. Hermione stepped in between them and placed a hand on both of their chests to keep them apart.

"No what's 'uncalled for' is hitting a person for no damn reason!" Draco retorted. He was now standing back up, holding his bruised ribs with one hand and his wand in the other - aiming it at Ron.

"No reason? **NO REASON**? You had your tongue down my girlfriends throat you bastard!" cried Ron. Hermiones ears were ringing with the yelling and their words seemed to echo around the hall.

Anger boiled in Hermiones veins and began to seep into every pore of her body.

'**How dare he**!' Hermione mentally screamed. 'First he cheats on me, then he tries to make up an excuse that is so ridiculous it is insulting, and _now_ he's here ruining my perfect moment? Just when I'm finally getting back on track? Oh no, this is _not_ happening' she thought.

She turned to face Ron completely and pushed hard on his chest, forcing him to stagger back.

He looked at her with a mixture of shock and hurt on his face with his jaw hanging open. He had not been expecting that reaction from her at all.

"What's your problem? If anything you should be thanking me for getting this arsehole off of you!" he yelled at her as he pointed a finger at Draco. His hands were balled into fists and he glared at Draco with so much hate that if looks could kill, Draco would be dead in a heartbeat.

"The only arsehole I see right now is **YOU**! You're my problem, you prick! Why are you here?" she spat at him.

"What do you mean why am I here? I came to see you! But I see you've moved on quickly enough" he snapped back, going red in the face out of anger. His ears were bright pink and his red hair hung messily in his eyes, making him look really menacing and lethal.

Her eyes now burned with such intense rage that she was sure her honey-brown eyes were on fire.

She narrowed her eyes into thin slits and advanced on Ron, pushing him as she let out a shrill frustrated scream.

"Don't you _**DARE**_ try to put _**ANY**_ of this on me you complete and utter **ARSEHOLE**! _I'M_ not the one who was sneaking around in empty corridors with filthy _sluts_!" she spat the last word in Ron's face and he froze out of fear.

Ron's back now touched the wall on the opposite side of the hall. He was scared. He had never seen such resentment in Hermiones eyes before.

"Th-thats why I came back!" he managed to squeak. He searched her eyes for any sign of the Hermione that had once loved him. For the warm and caring Hermione that he had known only two weeks ago. But as much as he tried he couldn't find her. He knew that if he stood any chance of getting her back then he'd have to be really sincere and genuinely sorry. So he spoke his next words with a surprising amount of confidence: "I've come here to apologize".

Hermione was completely dumbfounded and speechless as she stood staring at Ron with her jaw hanging open. Did he really think that after what he'd done he could just apologize and she'd take him back?

"I don't want to hear any pathetic apologies you inconsiderate prat! As far as I'm concerned you're welcome to her! I don't give a shit anymore!" and she began to turn away from him and head back to Draco who was looking at her with a smug smile on his face.

He loved seeing Weasley cower and stammer in fear as Hermione unleashed her wrath on him and he had to admit he found Hermione to be quite sexy when she was angry. So confident. So unafraid. And so damn beautiful. Her cheeks were flushed from anger and he wanted nothing more than to kiss them - he loved it when her cheeks went red like that.

Ron grabbed her shoulders before she could turn away completely and forced her to look at him.

"No listen!" he cried in a pleading tone of voice. "That was nothing with Lavender, _nothing_! I'm sorry ok? I didn't mean to hurt you like I did. She came on to me an-"

"I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses! Fuck off and get a life Ron, and stay the Hell out of mine" she finished in a deadly tone of voice. She gave him one last death stare and then turned around to go back to Draco.

As Ron watched Hermione turn around and go back to that toss-pot on the other side of the room something inside him snapped. He didn't like being dismissed like this. He didn't like getting dumped infront of the whole damn school and he _definately_ didn't like being second best to that prat. And he'd be damned if he was going to let her get away that easily.

His hand reached out quickly and grabbed her by the arm, stopping her in her tracks and forcing her to meet his eyes.

"Hey! This isn't over until I say it's over!" he roared in her face.

"It's over Ron! Now let me **go**!" she cried as she struggled to be free of his firm grip. He was strong, really strong, and his vice-like grip was starting to hurt her.

"NO! You'll listen to me now!"

"I don't want to listen Ron! I'm done listening! Now let me go - OW! You're hurting me Ron, STOP!"

"Let her go! _NOW_!" came a voice from Hermione and an arm encircled her waist, pulling her away from Ron.

She turned her head to see Draco standing behind her, his expression murderous. His eyes were narrowed and glared at Ron who was glaring back at him in response - his face red again out of anger. Draco was not scared of him. He wasn't going to let Hermione be treated like this infront of everyone. Not here. Not now. Not ever. Aslong as he was by her side he'd do his best to protect her. And that meant getting her free from her idiot boyfriends grip.

Ron rounded on Draco, positively outraged.

"This is none of your damned business!" cried Ron looking slightly psychotic.

"As long as Hermione's involved it IS my business! She's my business! I'll only repeat myself once. LET. HER. GO. **NOW**."

His tone was cold and deadly and in that moment Ron actually feared for his safety. The look in this blokes eyes was dangerous and Ron let go of Hermione. She turned around and let Draco wrap an arm around her shoulder protectively. She was so relieved to be free of Ron's grip and knew that Draco would never let anything happen to her. She felt safe with him.

"Oh really? And who the fuck are you?" cried Ron as he rounded on Draco.

"Scorpius Hyperion. Now stay the Hell away from her and I won't have to beat the shit out of you _Weasley_" he spat the last word at him and began to lead Hermione away from her deranged ex-boyfriend.

Ron stood speechless for a moment, shock settling into every bone in his body.

He recognized that cold, spiteful tone of voice. He'd recognize it anywhere. He'd had to put up with it for 6 years at school! That voice, with the blonde hair, the grey-blue eyes made him think...could he be...could _they_ be...NO!

He regained control of his legs and scrambled after the couple who was retreating into the crowd, heading towards the tables.

"Hermione wait!" he cried desperately.

He grabbed Hermiones arm and she managed to pull it away and turned back to face him. Her eyes flashing dangerously with a passionate fury.

"Don't touch me, ever again" she spoke slowly and in a voice so low, cold and lethal that it sent a shiver of fear down Rons spine.

She turned to leave again but Ron grabbed her wrist and turned her back.

"No! Wait! Is that Ma-"

"FURNUNCULUS!" screamed Hermione, her wand aimed at Rons face.

She watched with great delight as Rons face broke out into huge, painful, puss-filled boils and he screamed as he covered his face.

"I said don't touch me" she repeated in a cool and collected tone of voice.

She watched with a smug smile as Ron gaped at her, shocked that she would do this to him, before he fled from the Great Hall - covering his face and wailing in pain as he went.

Dracos hold on Hermiones waist relaxed slightly and Hermione turned to look at him, a proud smirk evident on his face.

"Couldn't have done it better myself" he stated and turned to smile at Hermione, who in response smiled back at him. They were just about to turn and leave when they heard the second most horrible thing that night.

A person dressed entirely in Black stepped out from the crowd that was gathered around the couple and screamed.

"How dare you do that to my Won-Won you little bitch!" screeched Lavender Brown.

Hermione turned to see Lavender advancing on her, her wand raised and pointing at Hermione.

"Careful Lavender, one more step and I may have to do to you what I already did to Ron. Which may not be a bad thing actually, it might improve your looks a bit" Hermione snapped back.

She was done with drama for the night and just wanted to go.

"Oh ha ha. You think you're so clever don't you? Well let me tell you that you're not. 'Scorpius Hyperion'? Nobodies even heard of him! What are you hiding Granger? Were you so desperate for a date that you had to bring your cousin or something?" she challenged as she took a step closer to Hermione, eyeing the man by her side.

Lavender knew she recognized him from somewhere, but she couldn't quite place it. But she vowed to herself she was going to find out what Hermione's little secret was and tell it to the world. One way or another she was going to get her revenge for what happened to Ron.

"I'm desperate? You're one to talk you slag!"

"You'll pay for that one Granger! CONJ-"

"OH NO YOU DON'T! **EAT SLUGS**!" bellowed an angry voice from beside Hermione, who turned just in time to see Draco raise his wand at Lavender.

He watched her with a smug smile playing on the corner of his lips as Lavenders face began to pale and she began to heave and gag.

Lavender turned to Hermione and said "This isn't over" and then covered her mouth and fled from the Great Hall in the same way as Ron had done only seconds before.

Everyone in the hall stood motionless, eyes fixed on the couple in the centre of the room.

Nobody could believe what had just happened, and Hermione was not only irritated that they were blatantly staring, but also incredibly nervous and shaky. She wasn't used to this kind of attention and it made her feel uneasy.

"What are you all staring at?" she asked the crowd and they began to avert their eyes and the crowd began to dissipate. The music started again and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully that would be the last of the drama that they would have to deal with that night.

Hermione turned to Draco who took her by the hand and led her to a nearby bench. He sat her down and cupped her cheek with his hand and stroked it with his thumb and wiped away the angry tears that were spilling down Hermiones cheeks.

"Are you ok?" he asked Hermione and he mentally cursed himself. 'What a stupid question! Ofcourse she's not ok you idiot!' he told himself. In truth he didn't know what else to say.

He hated to see Hermione cry, it brought memories back of that day in the Room of Requirement. A time when she had looked so broke and so fragile...he hated seeing that and he vowed that if he ever saw the Weasel again, then he'd make him pay for doing this to her and ruining this night.

Hermione blubbered and wiped furiously at her eyes which were now like mini waterfalls.

She hated crying, especially in public, but she couldn't help it. She was so unbelievably angry at Ron. At Lavender. At everything.

"No" she told Draco in a voice that sounded so defeated that Draco was sure his heart broke a little bit. "I'm s-s-sorry Draco" she said through broken sobs.

Draco couldn't believe she was apologizing. She had no reason to! Yes, their night had been ruined. Yes, he had been beaten up that night - pretty badly from the way it hurt when he moved too much - and yes, this is not how he had planned for his night to go at all.

But he had defended her from that nutter and Lavender Brown, and that was worth everything.

"Don't be" he said simply as he took her hand in his and began to trace patterns on the back of it with his thumb. Hermione found it oddly relaxing and she was thankful to have Draco there at that moment. She looked at him and saw how his eyes sparkled when he looked at her.

She looked away. She didn't deserve someone like him. Someone so caring, considerate, charming and just simply brilliant!

"How can I not be?" she mumbled, still looking away.

She felt a hand gently touch her chin and turn her head back to look at him.

"Because I'm not. I don't think this night was a complete disaster, do you?" he asked and his eyes sparkled with a suggestive look and a smile playing at the corner of his lips.

Hermione blushed and knew that he was referring to the kiss. It truly had been the most amazing moments of her life, being in Dracos arms and kissing him. But the thought of it only made another tear roll down her cheek when she remembered how it had been ended too fast. Far too soon.

He wiped her tear away and as he watched her blush he realized what he had said was true. Although he had taken a beating for kissing Hermione, it was the best kiss he had ever had. And he wasn't going to regret it any time soon.

"Really?" she asked in a small voice.

She watched as his mouth turned into a breathtaking smile and he leaned in close to her face and said "Really".

She placed her head on Draco's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. It was becoming a routine - Draco comforting Hermione after a run-in with her ex, but Draco didn't mind. He loved being this close to Hermione. He could smell the sweet scent of her hair and feel her heart beat furiously inside her chest as she pushed up against him, seeking comfort in his arms.

Hermione realized for the second time why the Room of Requirement brought her to him. Being cradled in Draco's arms like this felt right. She fit so perfectly into his embrace, it was as if his arms had been moulded specifically to hold her. She felt so safe when she was with him and she couldn't be more grateful than to have him here by her side in this moment.

He brushed away a few of the curls that had fallen out of her pony tail and dangled in her face, and he kissed her forehead. Her skin under his lips became alive at his touch and seemed to tingle and buzz even after he pulled away.

She sighed happily and wove her arms around Dracos waist.

She gave a startled gasped when she heard him sharply inhale air as his face contorted in pain.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she saw Draco clench his jaw and grit his teeth in discomfort.

"Nothing, I just need to relax for a little while, I'll be fine" he tried to reassure her.

With the adrenaline of the fight he had not felt any pain, but now that Ron had left and Draco was sitting down, he could feel every bit of the damage Ron had caused.

It felt as if a knife was being driven into his side whenever he moved, and he silently cursed the Weasel for making him feel this bad.

He could taste blood in his mouth as a trickle of it ran in from his burst lip.

Although he hated Weasley with a passion that could burn the Earth ten times over, he had to admit that he packed a good punch.

But he wasn't going to let Hermione know how much pain he was in. He wanted to protect her, and that meant not letting her know how much pain he was in. He knew she'd blame herself even more and he wasn't going to let her do that. Her eyes were welling up with tears and she bit her bottom lip to stop herself from crying again and so he replaced his agony filled expression with an emotionless mask, hiding his pain well.

"Don't worry about me" he managed to say through gritted teeth. It even hurt to talk, but if that's what it took to reassure her then so be it. He'd do anything to see that wonderful smile on her face again.

"No, no we should get you to the Common Room" she said.

He gave a tight nod and let Hermione drape his arm over her shoulder and help him stand. As she led him from the Great Hall Draco looked at her, proud to see that she was beginning to look like her old self again - her confident expression, her honey-brown eyes dancing in the candle light, her soft curls bouncing as they walked.

He didn't know what was going to happen to them in the next few weeks. He knew he should probably tell her about the - no. He couldn't do that. He knew if he did then that would be the end of him and Hermione. He wasn't ready to let her go. He wasn't ready to say goodbye. And he wasn't ready to stop loving her.

Yes, he loved her. He didn't know when it happened but he had admitted it to himself.

He knew that difficult times lay ahead, but he'd face them head on like he had done with Ron and Lavender tonight. He wasn't going to let anything stop what he was feeling. As Hermione led him through the corridors of Hogwarts, Draco realized something. Although he was in pain and the night had not gone as he had planned - as Hermione cared for him, he realized this was the happiest he had been in years.

Just being in her arms.

Pansy Parkinson watched the scene between Hermione and Lavender from the crowd that had had gathered around them.

She had been suspicious of the handsome stranger that was glued to Hermiones side all night, but when she heard him jinx Lavender her theory was confirmed.

Draco had always loved that curse, ever since second year when that blood-traitor Weasley had tried to curse him and it backfired.

She also knew that the names 'Scorpius' and 'Hyperion' were Malfoy family names, and that fact mixed with the strangers blonde hair and irreplaceable blue-grey eyes confirmed her thoughts. There was no doubt in her mind that the beautiful stranger that had protected Hermione that night was Draco Malfoy.

She didn't know how or why the pair had suddenly become so close but she knew she wasn't going to stand for it any longer. Her future depended on Draco. Things had been arranged for the past few weeks and although he wasn't ready to admit it, it was happening one way or another.

And Pansy was not going to let Hermione-Mudblood-Granger mess things up.

She followed the couple as they made their way to a nearby bench and lurked in the shadows of a Willow Tree, observing them with a preying look in her eye.

She watched in disgust as she saw Draco comfort her and then drape his arm around Hermiones shoulder as she hoisted him up and helped him from the Hall. She waited until they were gone and stepped out from the shadows.

If she was going to succeed in breaking this apart - whatever _this_ was- then she'd need help. And she knew just the person to get it from.

She left the Great Hall and began her search with a wicked sneer on her face.

'Mudbloods should know their place' she thought as she walked through the doors of the Great Hall. 'Mudbloods should know not to stand between me, and him. Mudbloods should know better than to mess with _**me**_'.

**A/N: Thanks for reading everyone! So what do you think of the chapter? Did I manage to make you hate Ron and Lavender? :p and what do you guys think about Pansy getting involved? Any ideas what she's up to? Please leave me some reviews! They make me smile and I always like to hear what you guys have to say :D I'm hoping the next chapter will be up soon (:**


	6. Dreams and Schemes

"It's ok Draco we'll get you to the Common Room as soon as possible" Hermione reassured Draco as she supported his surprisingly not so heavy weight. They were walking down the fourth floor corridor, heading towards the Heads Dormitory.

"Yes, see? We're almost there, just a few more steps and we'll be there. We'll get you cleaned up and you'll be feeling better in no time!"

"Granger..." Draco said through what sounded like clenched teeth.

"It's ok Draco you don't have to talk, we're almost there. You'll be able to relax in a minute! Oh I know what I can do! I can go to the kitchens and get some icecream! It always makes me feel better, maybe I'll ask Winky if she h-"

"Granger" he said again, sounding slightly more forceful than before. Hermione stopped in her tracks and looked up at him for the first time since they had left the hall.

"What is it Draco?"

"You're rambling" he stated in a matter-of-fact tone, although Hermione could hear the smile in his voice. As she looked at him closer she saw that he wasn't speaking through clenched teeth, he was trying his best to hold back a laugh.

Ok so maybe Hermione had been rambling...a bit. It wasn't that being this close to Draco freaked her out -well maybe that was true too - but it was more of the fact that it sent the butterflies in her stomach into overdrive and her nerves to go into supermode!

The way Draco was positioned against Hermiones body meant that he was slumped over slightly with his head resting in the curve of her neck. He had been taking deep ragged breaths on their way through the castle and whenever his warm, minty breath came into contact with Hermiones skin it sent violent shivers down her spine. But it wasn't because she was cold.

His right arm which was draped over her shoulder moved around quite a lot while she was helping him climb the stairs, causing his hand to brush against her right breast slightly slightly. This did nothing to calm down the butterflies in her belly and she had to actually take a deep breath to stop herself from passing out.

He hadn't said anything on the way up to the Common Room, and that mixed with the fact that his close proximity was causing her heart to do little flips every ten seconds caused her to be extremely nervous.

As a result, she rambled.

If Hermione was honest with herself it was the only way to make sure she didn't pass out and face plant the floor. Being like this, with Draco, did strange things to her head - causing her vision to become slightly dizzy and for her brain to go fuzzy.

'Damn him for being so gorgeous!' she thought to herself as a blush crept onto her cheeks.

Draco gave a crooked smile with a hint of smugness playing at the corners of his lips - those perfectly shaped, thin, gorgeous li- 'OH HERMIONE COME ON!' she screamed to herself.

Ofcourse realizing that she'd been gazing at Dracos lips only made her more flustered and she had to look away from Draco as she was reminded of her little fantasy from earlier in the night.

A throaty chuckle registered in her ears and she turned to see Draco standing up a bit straighter, smiling at her.

He had to admit that he got a kick out of seeing her so flustered in his presence and decided to have a bit of fun with it.

"Do I make you nervous Granger?" he whispered in a husky voice, right in her ear.

Hermione jumped slightly having not realized that he had moved his head again.

"N-n-no" she managed to say. She told the butterflies in her belly to go back into their cage and for the room to stop spinning, all the while avoiding Dracos gaze. If she looked into those beautiful stormy eyes she'd surely pass out.

'Oh Merlin, I'm becoming Ron. I officially have the emotional range of a teaspoon! Why can't I cope with this?' she mentally screamed to herself.

'Because he's gorgeous, perfect, amazing, charming, smart, sophisticated and everything you could possibly ever want in a man?' a voice suggested inside Hermiones head.

"Oh like that helps" Hermione muttered sarcastically under her breath.

"What was that?" asked Draco. He actually had to bite his tongue to stop himself from laughing. 'She's talking to herself she's that nervous? Well done Draco' he thought to himself with a smug smile on his face. It felt good to know he had such a profound effect on the girl by his side. The girl he was falling for.

"N-nothing!" Hermione said a little too quickly, making her sound slightly mental. "Oh look, we're here!" she said, sounding a little too relieved to reach the portrait that guarded the Heads Dormitory.

Hermione had been hoping to get into the Common Room quickly, but to her dismay Sir Cadogan rose from the ground beneath the tree he was sleeping under and brandished his sword and waved it around.

"Hark! Who goes there? Villains! Villains I say! Well let me tell you this, I shall fight to the de-"

"Sir Cadogan! It's me! Just open the bloody portrait will you?" begged Hermione, not caring if she was rude. This man honestly drove her crazy. He had done ever since their third year. When Hermione had found out that he would be the one guarding her Common Room, she had actually asked McGonagall if it was possible to stay in the Gryffindor dormitories.

She hated this portrait with a passion. She remembered him from her third year - how loud, irritating, and generally mental he was. She admitted to herself that she'd rather have Peeves guarding their Common Room than him.

"Ah! Miss Granger! My, my I did not recognize you! If I may be so bold madam, you are a very fair maiden" he exclaimed, putting his sword away and smiling down at Hermione. This was the third time this week he'd told Hermione this. He really was a pompous idiot.

"Yes, thankyou. Now please open up the portrait, its rather urgent" she persisted not bothering to cover up the irritation in her voice.

"Doth my eyes deceive me? Or has Lord Draco Malfoy himself been wounded in battle! My condolences dear sir, to a fellow soldier such as myself" he said and saluted Draco who was now staring at the portrait with a mixture of amusement and annoyance on his face.

'This man is proper mental' thought Draco as he watched the portrait salute him and then begin singing war songs at the top of his lungs.

"CADOGAN! OPEN UP THE PORTRAIT!" Hermione shouted, finally catching the attention of the man in the portrait.

He stopped singing at once and bowed to Hermione, still with the pompous smile on his face.

"Ofcourse m'lady. I bid you goodnight, and remember should ever need assistance with anything do not hesitate to ask me, my dear comrades!" he bowed once more and then the portrait swung open.

Hermione and Draco practically scrambled to get inside and away from the portrait. Draco was sure he heard Hermione mutter something along the lines of: "assistance alright, you'll need assistance when I slash your portrait you conceited pompous batty prat".

They walked into the Common Room and Hermione paused in the middle of the room. She loved their Common Room, it had high ceilings with wooden beams and was a large square room with white walls - except one with was all brick and stone with a roaring fireplace in it's centre. The colours reminded her of the Gryffindor Common Room - plush, comfortable red couches with gold cushions and red and gold accents around the room and on the mantlepiece of the fireplace. However it also had the air and sophistication of the Slytherin Common Room - with a crystal chandalier hanging from the ceiling, dark wooden bookshelves lining the back wall and various stone statues around the room.

It represented both houses perfectly, but this is not what stopped Hermione in her tracks. As she looked from the couches to the stone arch and the winding staircase that led to their bedrooms, she had no idea where to put Draco.

"Ermm where would you like to go? To the couch or to bed?" she asked, looking between the two options.

"Well usually I don't jump into bed with a girl until the third or fourth date Granger, but seeing as you asked so nicely then bed it is" he teased her with a playful sparkle in his eyes and a sly smile on his face. He knew he probably shouldn't play with her nerves anymore, but it was just too funny to see her reactions.

"I-I didn't mean that at all!" she looked at him with a panicked face. She genuinely couldn't tell whether he was joking or being serious and this just brought back the flustered Hermione from 5 minutes ago.

He laughed and then regretted it when the movement caused a sharp pain in his side.

"I know what you meant Granger, but in all seriousness please take me to my bed. It's more comfortable than the couch" he said and Hermione nodded before leading him one step at a time up the stairs.

They reached the end of the hallway, passing Hermiones bedroom on the right and then arriving at Dracos on the left - all the while she had been thinking 'this is it, the first time I'm ever going to be Draco Malfoys bedroom. Wait what? First time? Do I want there to be a second time?-' the butterflies in her stomach confirmed this along with the blush and the tingling feeling that ran down her spine -'Oh Merlins beard, I actually want to be in Dracos bedroom more than once. Oh my brain is truly fried' she thought to herself.

Draco reached out his hand and opened his bedroom door - the doors only responded to the owners touch - and Hermione led him inside.

The room was exactly as she expected it to be.

The walls were a dark green with dark wood trim along the top and bottom of the wall. The floors were the same dark wood, as was the gigantic four poster bed on the opposite side of the room - with green and silver gossamer curtains tied in silver ribbons to the bed posts. There was a diagonal fireplace in one corner of the room that emitted a warm glow through out the otherwise dark room and a few green velvet chairs close by. Through the wall of windows to the left of the bed Hermione could see the moon, shining in the sky over the Black Lake.

The room was very Malfoy-ish. Very Draco.

She walked slowly over to the bed and placed him down slowly, making sure his head was supported and trying to move him as little as possible.

He groaned slightly when he was put down from the pain in his side, but once he was lying still he stopped and seemed to relax a little bit.

Hermione sat on the edge of the bed beside him, doing her best not to jostle the soft mattress so as to not cause him anymore pain or discomfort.

Although his body relaxed, his face was still twisted in pain and Hermione knew that she'd have to treat what ever wounds he had.

"Do you mind if I...?" she didn't know how to finish that question as she motioned towards his side. 'Do you mind if I take your top off and ogle what I'm sure is an amazingly hot body as I treat your wounds?' - no she couldn't ask that.

The pain in his face disappeared for a second as a smirk formed on his perfect face.

"You're determined to have your way with me aren't you Granger? First taking me to bed and now trying to take my clothes off?" he teased, enjoying the way her eyes bulged slightly and then formed into slits as she glared at him. 'How can he be so-so Draco at a time like this?' she thought. If there wasn't the possibility of him having a fractured rib, she would have smacked him.

"Very funny, but I- I have to take your top off to look at your wounds...that is if you want me to treat them properly" she said.

He smiled and then nodded. She took off his dress robes and folded them neatly on the bed beside her and then helped to unbutton his shirt, her hands shaking slightly as she saw more and more skin underneath.

When the shirt was off, she gasped at the sight and was glad Ron was no where near her - otherwise she would have surely hexed him to death.

Hermiones fantasies were confirmed, Draco had an amazing body. Infact it was safe to say it was the best body she had ever seen - so amazing that it could even rival the number one candidate for 'Witch Weekly's most beautiful bachelor' poll. It was toned and muscular and if Hermione wasn't in so much shock she probably would have drooled.

But right now, this amazing, Godly, perfect body was covered in angry black, purple and dark blue bruises from Rons punches. She ran her fingers over the bruises with a featherlight touch, and instantly retracted her hand when she saw Draco wince and sharply inhale air.

"Draco...I-"

"It's ok, please just fix it" he asked her in a tight and restrained voice, trying not to let her hear how much pain he was really in.

Hermione nodded and took her wand out of her clutch bag and held it over the bruises.

"Episkey" she said, and she heard a soft snapping sound. He must have had a small fracture in one of his ribs, but was thankful that it was now fixed. She repeated the spell until the bruising had subsided somewhat and then said "Ferula" and watched as bandages tied themselves around Dracos torso.

She then moved to working on his split lip and murmured "Episkey" and was thankful that his bottom lip was just as it should be again. Finally, she said "Tergeo" and the blood that was smeared on Dracos chin from his burst lip was cleared away, leaving no trace of it ever having been there.

Draco stared in astonishment as the girl sitting beside him as she smiled proudly at her handiwork.

"How did you do that?" he asked her, he knew she was good with spells. But he didn't know she was that good.

"Well you see I'm a witch, so because I have this thing called a wand it's rather easy to do Magic. You just hold it up like this a-"

"No, not that - obviously. I mean how did you know those spells?" he asked, still fascinated as to how she was able to heal him so well.

Hermione smiled, feeling proud of herself. Not only was she sitting here, infront of a half naked gorgeous Draco Malfoy, not feeling flustered or nervous in the slightest but she was also finding it surprisingly easy to talk to him and even playfully tease him! Given the way she was acting on the way up to their Common Room she never thought she'd be able to act this way. But here she was, casually sitting infront of the half naked man she was lusting after and feeling perfectly fine about it!

On top of that, he also seemed impressed with her and she had to admit that she liked this kind of attention from him. It made her feel good about herself, really good about herself.

"Well I want to be a Healer when I leave school, so why not start learning a few tricks now?" she said in a nonchalant kind of voice while shrugging her shoulders, trying to make out that it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Well you're doing a pretty good job of it!" Draco said, a dreamy grin appearing on his face. Was there anything this girl wasn't amazing at?

Hermione blushed a little bit and pulled the covers over Dracos body.

"You should get some sleep" she told him as she tucked in the green silk sheets around his body, her nervousness returning and feeling slightly awkward all of a sudden. She gave him a small smile and turned to leave the bedroom when a firm hand grasped her small one which was hanging by her side and pulled her back around to meet him.

"No goodnight kiss?" he asked with a crooked smile on his face and a sparkle of desire dancing in his eyes.

As Hermione looked into his eyes, those beautiful grey-blue orbs, she felt drawn to him and before she realized it she was kneeling by his bed - her face only inches away from his.

This was all the encouragement Draco needed to place his fingers under Hermiones chin and gently pull her towards him. Their lips met eachother with a soft unspoken passion, but as Hermiones lips began to respond under Dracos, the passion grew and before she knew it, she was kissing Draco back with everything she had - leaving her slightly breathless when she pulled back for air.

It was then that she realized that that was more than just a goodnight kiss and if she didn't get out of there quickly, then she wouldn't be able to find the willpower to leave the room that night. She blushed and stood up quickly and backed away towards the door, saying goodnight quickly before closing the door quickly behind her.

"Goodnight Granger" Draco said into the darkness. If it was possible, that kiss was better than the one they had shared earlier that night on the dancefloor. Draco folded his arms behind his head and drifted off to sleep, feeling more content and at peace than he had done all night. That's when he realized that all he needed was Hermione, she was the key to his happiness, and if he could be lucky enough to go to sleep every night feeling like this - then she was definately the girl for him.

Hermione flopped onto her comfy bed and kicked her shoes off, her lips still tingling from her kiss from Draco and feeling sightly breathless.

As she drifted off to sleep that night she thought to herself 'Hermione, what have you gotten yourself into?'.

'A wonderful and beautiful thing' the voice inside her head told her.

Hermione wasn't going to deny that, and she sleep claimed her she pushed aside her worrying thoughts about how she could even begin to explain her situation with Draco - whatever the situation was - and instead thought about their moment on the dancefloor. When she had been in his arms, dancing and twirling the night away.

Her dreams were filled with his icy-grey eyes and if anybody had seen Hermione sleep that night, they would have seen her in a sound and peaceful sleep with a smile on her face.

Pansy Parkinson breezed into the Hospital Wing, authority and narcissism oozing from every pore in her body.

She found who she was looking for at the back of the hospital wing, a silver basin infront of her with an undetectable extension charm on it.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she grew closer and could hear the girl wretching and gagging, throwing up countless slugs into the basin and watched how they would squirm on the bottom of the basin and then disappear.

Pansy couldn't take it anymore and had to speak to distract herself from the disgusting sight before her, otherwise she just might throw up too.

"Brown? If you could stop puking up your insides for a second I have a proposition for you" she folded her arms across her chest and cocked a perfectly plucked eyebrow at the girl infront of her, waiting for her response.

It took Lavender a second but she turned her face - which was slightly green and had drops of sweat running down it - to look at Pasny.

"I'm puking up slugs you bitch! I'm hardly in a position to-" she gagged and threw up another slug. When she was done and composed herself she turned back to Pansy to finished her sentence "-t-talk! And even if I was, why would I give a flying Hippogriffs arse what you'd have to say to me?" she spat.

Pansy had to take her hat off to the girl infront of her, puking up what was surely every internal organ she had left. Although the girl looked absolutely dreadful and the sight of her spewing large slimey slugs out of her mouth made Pansy want to vomit herself, she was still able to keep up her 'bitch' persona.

This only reinforced Pansys reasons for wanting to work with her on this. She needed someone who was as strong as Pansy to help her.

"Oh I think you'll be interested to hear what I have to say when I tell you that it involves making a certain little Mudblood Grangers life Hell" she sneered.

Lavender puked up another slug and then turned to Pansy with bulging eyes, her long curly hair hanging in her face.

"You're serious?" she asked, stunned at the words that had just left Pansys mouth. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor working...together?

"Oh yes I'm very serious. Deadly serious infact" said Pansy in a low voice, and Lavender shuddered when Pansy emphasized the word 'deadly'.

"What's she done to get your wand in so bad of a knot?" asked Lavender before she had to turn away and throw up another slug. Merlin, she hated this.

"Oh she's done plenty. My future relies heavily on Draco, there are plans which have been set in motion concerning him and I, and I'll be damned if I let that little Mudblood tart screw everything up" she told Lavender, her voice quivering and shaking with anger.

Lavender couldn't believe it. She felt as though someone had stupefied her.

"D-Draco? Draco Malfoy? That's who that bitch was with? B-but why? How?" cried Lavender in a disbelieving voice. She knew she'd recognized the mans blonde hair and his eyes, but for this to happen...it could only mean one thing. Had Hell just froze over?

"I'm not particularly interested in why or how. All I'm interested in is putting a stop to this. NOW. Are you in or are you out?" asked Pansy as she took a step closer to Lavender, which she had to admit, intimidated her slightly. Lavender had heard that Pansy was a bit of a psycho, and so she had to be careful about what she said when she was around her.

Lavender took in Pansys sneering pug-face and had a feeling there was more to this than Pansy was letting on.

"What's in it for me?" asked Lavender.

"Revenge. Revenge against Mudblood Granger" Pansy stated.

The possibilities of what she and Pansy could do to make Hermiones life Hell swirled through Lavenders mind, and despite the fact that she was puking up Slugs, the thoughts brought a twisted and wicked grin to her green, sweaty face.

"I'm in. What's the plan?" asked Lavender, anxious and excited to begin work on giving the little know-it-all bitch hell to pay for what she'd done to her and Ron.

Pansy grinned a triumphant and evil grin and then stepped away from Lavender.

"I'll fill you in tomorrow. I'll meet you in the Astronomy Tower tomorrow night at 8:00pm. We'll start plotting then" and without another word she turned on her heel and breezed out of the Hospital Wing, feeling more proud of herself than ever.

'Oh this is going to be so good. With that bimbo helping me out, it'll be so easy to pin everything on her if things go wrong. But they shouldn't...if things go my way, then Granger won't last until Christmas'.

Pansy smiled am evil, Slytherin smile and descended into the dungeons. More excited than ever to begin plotting to get rid of Granger.

Pansy Parkinson would make sure she got her way - one way or another. The stakes were too high for her not to, and she wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away from her.

Pansy would not let her future be ruined.


	7. Eternal Flame

- Eternal Flame: Chapter 7 -

Hermione sat on a bench under an old Oak tree by the Black Lake, watching the sky as the sun set over the horizon. Winter was fast approaching and the days were growing shorter, and the nights longer. Hermione wore a pair of grey skinny jeans that were tucked into a pair of black leather boots and a long black sweater with silver threading through it, making it glisten in the light of the setting sun.

She could feel goosebumps rise on her skin as a bitter cold wind swirled around her, picking up fallen leaves from the trees and causing her hair to fly around - but Hermione didn't care.

The setting sun caused the sky to fill with different shades of pinks, oranges and reds and she gazed in awe as she watched the colours gradually grow darker and fade into shades of violet and navy as the sun disappeared in the distance.

Sunset was Hermiones favorite time of day, followed by Twilight. She enjoyed watching the sky as it filled with her favourite colours. She hadn't watched the Sunset in ages and a melancholy feeling swept over her as she realized how much she had missed it. Hermione used to watch the Sunset in the Astronomy Tower with Harry and Ron, but now that they were gone, she found herself sitting under the old Oak tree watching it by herself.

She could have easily gone to the Astronomy Tower and watched it from there, but she didn't like the idea much. That tower held too many memories for her - of times when things were so simple, when she didn't have to worry about anything, of when she was with Ron.

Hermione let out an irritated sigh and shook her head to rid herself of the happy memories of Ron and wrapped her arms around body, as if to comfort herself.

She knew that she shouldn't still be thinking about Ron, and as angry as she was with him for everything he had done to her in the past few weeks - deep down her heart still held a special place for him. She knew that getting over Ron would be a slow and difficult process, but had not imagined it would be made _more _difficult with the feelings that were gradually growing for somebody else.

Hermione ran her fingers through her hair out of frustration and convinced herself to stop thinking about...him. Her brain was scrambled and in the past few days Hermione had felt so confused that she resembled someone who had been Confunded.

She silenced her thoughts, but as quickly as she pushed them away, they returned. As the moon rose and sparkling stars filled the darkening sky, they cast a pearly glow over the surface of the cool water - making it look silvery-grey. This reminded her of the eyes of the one person she had tried not to think about for the past two days, the one person whose very presence sent her heart racing and for her brain to go fuzzy.

Him.

It was Tuesday night, and ever since Sunday morning when Hermione woke up after the Halloween Ball she had been avoiding Draco. It was as if she had gone back in time to the week after they had found eachother in the Room of Requirement. She did everything she could to stay away from him - too scared to admit that if she saw him again, heard his silky smooth voice, or felt his touch, then she wouldn't be able to deny what she felt for him.

But what did she feel for him? This question had been annoying Hermione for the past few days. Dancing with Draco had been the most amazing thing she'd ever experienced. The way he had looked into her eyes did strange things to her heart beat and his touch sent shivers of desire down her spine.

His voice made her go weak at the knees and when he smiled, her heart melted and she couldn't help but think how lucky she was to know that he was smiling at her. Even after 3 days, her lips still buzzed and tingled from their kiss and she found herself blushing as she remembered the last time his lips had touched hers.

Was it bad that she was imagining kissing him so soon after her break-up with Ron? Was it bad that she was longing for his touch? Was it bad that she felt incomplete without being in the same room as him?

'No, ofcourse not...he's just your friend. You're just...fond of him - that's all. You're just friends. Nothing more, nothing less. Just friends' she tried to convince herself.

'Friends don't look, touch, talk, or kiss like that Hermione' a voice inside her head told her.

Hermione clenched her jaw and began grinding her teeth together. Why did that stupid voice always have to be right?

Yes she had feelings for Draco, and as much as she tried she couldn't convince herself that she didn't want to be more than just friends. He made her happy, made her feel safe. But most of all he made her feel special. The way he looked at her made her feel like the only girl in the world and when he kissed her, her soul came to life and sparked with such a tremendous passion that it set her heart on fire.

Another cold blast of wind swirled around Hermione, but as cold as it was it didn't even begin to match the sad, empty feeling that filled her as she was brought back down to reality with a thud.

Being with Draco would never work out. Not only had he been her sworn enemy since they were 11, he was a Malfoy. A member of one of the oldest Pureblooded families in the country, if not the world. Being with her would go against everything he had ever been raised to believe and the fact that she was a Muggle-born would send his father into such a rage that it could rival even Mrs. Weasley's terrifying temper.

As if that wasn't enough of a reason to cause Hermiones heart to ache, she was reminded of another sobering fact.

Being with Draco would mean that she would have to keep it a secret and lie to her friends. If they found out she was involved with Draco in any way, she would surely be abandoned. She had been through too much with her friends to lose them and the mere thought of it caused tears to well up in her eyes and blur her vision as she gazed across the lake. She couldn't risk losing her friends and Hermione tried to swallow the emotional lump that was building in her throat as she remembered her conversation with Ginny from earlier...

_Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table for dinner, spooning mashed potatoes onto her plate and busying herself so that she didn't feel compelled to look over at the Slytherin table. If she saw a head of blonde hair, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from admitting her feelings and running into his arms._

_"So, where's that handsome stranger then?" asked Ginny as she sat down across from Hermione, blocking any view that Hermione may have of the Slytherin table. She breathed a sigh of relief at this and relaxed slightly, glad that there was no possible way of her to be reminded of Draco for the time being._

_Then her forehead creased in a frown as she registered what Ginny was saying._

_"Not here Gin" Hermione replied through gritted teeth as she glared at her friend. Ginny had been bringing Draco up since Sunday, and Hermione silently cursed her best friend for bringing him up __**again**__._

_"Well I can see that" Ginny said with a role of her eyes as she scanned the hall for him. "Where is he? I don't see him anywhere at the Hufflpuff or Ravenclaw table" she whined and pouted slightly as she turned back to Hermione._

_Ofcourse Ginny wouldn't even think of looking at the Slytherin table, Hermione wouldn't even dream of going out with a Slytherin would she? The thought of it was simply ludicrous._

_"What house did you say he was in?" she asked inquisitively and Hermione clenched her jaw. Why couldn't she just drop it?_

_"I didn't" Hermione told her in a clipped voice._

_"Oh, a bit moody today are we? Did you guys break up or something?" she asked as she furrowed her forehead in confusion and looked at her best friend._

_"Two people have to together for that to happen Gin" Hermione said in a quiet voice._

_Ginnys eyes widened and she looked surprised. "You mean you guys weren't going out? Wow, I just thought that from the way you guys - well...looked at eachother and acted...I just assumed..." she trailed off being at a loss for words. They looked so good together on Saturday night, like the perfect couple. The way he treated her and protected her from her Psycho brother said that he really cared...so why weren't they together?_

_"Never assume Gin. Because when you assume, you make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'" Hermione told her, trying to sound bored and uninterested in the conversation when it was really tearing her up inside._

_"Oh ha ha" said Ginny, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she took a bite out of her roast beef. "So what happened?" she asked, not bothering to stop with her little interrogation._

_Hermione sighed. She didn't like lying to her friends, so she was just going to tell her the truth._

_"We're just not meant to be together" she managed to say past the lump in her throat that had built up._

_"Oh" replied Ginny in a stunned voice. Hermiones choked and quiet voice was enough to convince Ginny that it was time to drop the subject. After sitting in awkward silence for a minute, Hermione couldn't bear to be in the Hall any longer and made an excuse about having too much homework to Ginny and left the hall._

Hermione had been sitting out here since then, trying not to think about what to do. She was torn between following her heart of following her head.

Her heart told her that she should be with him, to forget Ron and just be with Draco. But her head told her that things would never work out and to stop being so ridiculous and wanting things she could never have. As Hermione listened to her head, the fact that it could never work out caused her to feel such a horrible pain that it brought a tear to her eye. She wiped the tear away with the back of her sleeve, refusing to cry.

She refused to feel this kind of pain again. She refused to get anymore attached to him than she already was. But to do that, it would mean distancing herself from him and putting up walls - something which she had subconsciously been doing for the past 3 days without realizing it.

It seemed that as always that Hermione was determined to follow the logic in her brain, rather than the love in her heart.

"Pansy, are you sure we should be doing this?" Lavender asked in a nervous voice. She had been pacing the empty Charms classroom for the past five minutes as she watched Pansy write her letter - the first part of their plan.

"Oh shut your trap Brown and relax. I already told you that we need her! We can't always be around to keep an eye on them, but she will!" Pansy cried in an exasperated voice. Lavender was really grating on her last nerve. "Besides she owes me a favour anyway. Remember how I told you that my father caught her snooping around the Ministry when the Death Eater trials were going on? If she'd have been caught then she would have been sacked. Trust me, she'll do this" Pansy told her as she put the finishing touches on her letter and handed it to Lavender to read.

Lavender took the letter with a trembling hand and bit her bottom lip as she read it through.

"Well?" Pansy asked impatiently as she waited for Lavender to say something.

Lavender pursed her lips and nodded.

"Good" Pansy said brusquely as she snatched the letter out of Lavenders hand and tied it to the leg of her silver Eagle Owl. Once she was done she bent down infront of it and looked it in the eyes.

"Take this to the Daily Prophet Headquarters in London. Understand?" she told it in a low, intimidating voice.

The owl ruffled it's feathers and nodded before spreading it's wings and flying out of the open classroom window.

Lavender watched Pansy sneer as the owl took flight, flying over the grounds and across the Black Lake. She had a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach, and as she watched the owl disappear into the night sky she hoped that this would not come back to haunt her.

Draco stood in the Head Boy and Girl Common Room by the fireplace, anxiously awaiting for Hermione to return. He hadn't seen her for the past three days since she left his room on Saturday night and he was beginning to worry.

Why was she avoiding him? Had he done something wrong? As he replayed the nights events in his head, he thought about everything that had happened that night. After thinking for a few minutes he shook his head out of defeat, unable to find anything that could warrant her recent behaviour.

In his mind, that night had been perfect. Minus the incident with Ron ofcourse. But the fact still remained that Saturday night at the Ball with Hermione had made him the happiest he had felt in a long time. When he was with her he forgot about everything else except her, except Hermione. He forgot all of the problems he was dealing with with his parents. He forgot about everything that was expected of him in the coming months and just lived in the moment and enjoyed it. He forgot about what his parents had arranged at the end of the summer...what they were planning...

He shook his head and began pacing the Common Room. He wasn't going to think about that now. He knew that he shouldn't be feeling these things for Hermione, giving everything that was happening but he couldn't help it. Being with her felt so right, and he wasn't going to give it up. Come what may, he was not going to let his feelings for Hermione go.

He stopped pacing and gazed around the Common Room, stumped as to what to do next. Draco had already tried finding her earlier that night. He checked everywhere from the Owlery to the Library to the Great Hall, but could not find the silky smooth curls nor the honey-brown eyes that he so deperately sought.

Draco flopped down on the couch in defeat and ran his fingers through his blonde hair, more irritated than ever. He looked around the room and his eyes came to rest on the window. The sun had completely set now and an eery fog had settled over the grounds. He couldn't think of where Hermione could possibly be, but hoped that wherever she was, she was not outside in the cold by herself.

As he was stood up, prepared to search the castle again a loud hooting sound registered in his ears and he turned back to the window in time to see a large silver Eagle Owl fly over the lake and disappear into the night sky.

'Who could possibly be sending letters at this time of night?' he wondered as he stared after the owl.

Moments later his ears registered a different sound, but this time it was one that made his heart skip a beat - a soft creaking sound as the Portrait hole opened and soft footsteps enter the Common Room.

Hermione stepped out of the shadows and as she came into Draco's view, the first thing he noticed was how heartbreakingly beautiful she looked.

Her curls fell over her shoulders and around her face, framing it perfectly and bouncing when she walked. Her cheeks were flushed and rosy from the cold, and Draco guessed that she must have been outside after all. He frowned at this, but then smiled when he admired at how amazing her red cheeks went with her slightly tanned skin. It also brought out the colour of her honey-brown eyes which sparkled in the soft light from the fireplace.

Draco stood by the couch and watched her walk in a distracted daze across the Common Room towards the stairs that led to their rooms. Apparently she hadn't noticed that he was there, for she jumped and spun around when he cleared his throat to announce his presence.

When she heard him clear his throat she gasped and her breath caught in her throat. 'Damn it! How could I not have known he was here?' she screamed at herself as she whirled around to find him. She saw him standing by the couch and the butterflies in her stomach took flight as she admired the way that the light from the fireplace cast a warm glow over his blonde hair, making it look like the sun.

She stared in awe at him, having seen him for the first time in 3 days and blushed when she realized she was gaping at him. Hermione seemed to be at a loss for words and looked down at her feet, fidgeting with her hands. She found it slightly awkward and if she looked at him any longer then she'd surely fall harder for him.

"Hi" said Draco in a small voice, and he cursed himself under his breath. As if this wasn't awkward enough, he had to go and say something as stupid as that? 'Oh well done Draco' he told himself sarcastically.

"Hi" she replied in an equally small voice, still not meeting his gaze.

"You-You've been avoiding me" he said, repeating his words from last week in their dance lesson. This situation couldn't be weirder, not even if Hagrid entered the room riding Buckbeak and wearing a pink dress.

"Yes" she squeaked and began to shift nervously from one foot to the other, never looking up.

Tears had begun to well up in her eyes at the sound of his voice and she knew that just being in the same room as him was making her heart melt.

The butterflies in her belly were still flying, but more from anxiousness than excitement.

'Don't look at him Hermione, don't look at him. He's just a friend, you don't like him as anything more than a friend, not at all. Don't look at him, don't look at him, don't look a-"

A hand was gently placed on her chin and strong fingers tilted her head up to look into a pair of stormy grey eyes.

"What's wrong Hermione?" he asked her in a soothing, sympathetic voice.

When he said her name, she couldn't hold the tears back anymore and they fell freely from her eyes. Her name coming from his lips sounded so perfect, so beautiful, and it just made the reality of their situation hurt even more. The reality that she couldn't ever have him.

When Hermione burst into tears infront of him, it felt as though a Dementor had swept over Draco - sucking all of the happiness and colour from his world.

'Something so beautiful should not be so sad' he told himself.

Determined to see her smile again, he pulled her into his arms and before she realized what was happening, he had scooped her into his arms and carried her 'bridal style' to the couch and sat down, positioning her body so that she was cradled in his arms.

Her body shook against Dracos chest as heart-wrenching sobs escaped her lips and Draco could only hold her body tighter against his.

He ran his fingers slowly down her back and stroked her hair as she cried into his chest, not minding if she ruined his brand new shirt which he chose to wear incase he saw her again.

Hermione was embarrassed that Draco was seeing her like this, but she couldn't help it.

She knew that he didn't deserve to be avoided or neglected. In her opinion he deserved the world and more! But treating him in the way she had been doing was the only way to ensure that her heart didn't end up broken with disappointment when things didn't work out between them.

She couldn't go through anymore heart ache than she'd already endured in the past two weeks.

After what seemed like hours, when in reality it was only about ten minutes, Hermione ran out of tears to cry and hiccuped - breaking the solemn silence that hung in the air.

Draco smiled and took an old fashioned fabic handkerchief out of his back pocket and handed it to her.

Hermiones vision was blurred with tears and she had to blink a few times to clear her eyes to see what he was offering her.

'Oh Merlin stop torturing me, he's perfect!' she cried as she stared at the linen handkerchief in his hand.

"Who ever said chivalry was dead?" he asked her in a light-hearted tone as his eyes sparkled with an emotion that Hermione couldn't place. Was it 'hope'?

Dracos hand held the handkerchief for her and he searched her eyes for any sign that she would take it, hoping that she would - not just because she had to wipe her eyes, but also because it would be a tad bit awkward if she were to shrug it off and say no.

But when the corners of her mouth tilted upwards into a small smile and she tentatively took it from his hand, he couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief and smile back at her.

Most men would probably find it unattractive if a girl they liked were to blow her nose loudly infront of them, but not Draco. If anything it only made him smile wider to know that she was so down to earth and not caring of what other people thought about her.

"Better?" he asked her as she finished and he wiped a few stray tears away with his thumb.

She sniffed and nodded.

"T-thanks" she said in a small voice.

"Anytime" he replied instantly, and he smiled when he saw that the tears were disappearing and her familiar sparkle was returning to her eyes. He was confused at what caused her to cry, but he didn't want to push the subject. If she wanted to tell him then she would.

Hermiones skin tingled under his touch and her brain went fuzzy, making it hard for her to think. She was close enough to him that she could feel his minty breath caress her cheek and she could smell his amazing cologne.

The silence had returned, neither knowing exactly what to say. So Hermione said the first thing that popped into her head and clamped her mouth shut immediately afterwards.

"Who carries a linen handkerchief in their pocket anymore?" she asked before she realized it. She cursed herself repeatedly for asking such a stupid question as she blushed a violent shade of scarlett.

'Please Merlin, just kill me now' she begged as she saw Dracos eyebrows rise in surprise. 'It's really his fault' she reasoned with herself. 'If he didn't make me feel so damn flustered I may actually be able to control what comes out of my mouth'.

He was surprised at her question and as he saw her blush he started chuckling.

"Apparently I do" he told her in-between chuckles and his hold around her body tightened reassuringly. He didn't want her to think that he felt awkward or anything after what she'd said.

She didn't feel so stupid when she felt his arms around her tighten and she relaxed slightly and smiled.

It was then that she realized that she really didn't know much about him and her curiosity peaked to new levels.

"Draco...?" she asked in a shakey voice.

"Yes?" he asked cautiously, unsure of what she was about to ask him.

"Where did you learn to dance?" she asked him inquisitively. Aswell as everything else that had been on her mind for the past few days, this had been in the back of her mind too.

He relaxed and smiled a breathtaking smile, slightly relieved. If Hermione hadn't been sitting down then her knees would have given way underneath her when he smiled and she had to fight with herself to keep her mental walls up.

'Friends can get to know eachother, right?' she rationalized.

"I started taking lessons when I was 7. It was expected of me, given all of the parties we held at the manor as I was growing up" he told her with a shrug of his shoulders, trying to push away the other thoughts about what was to be expected of him soon.

This took Hermione by surprise and the thought of a little 7 year old Draco learning how to waltz made her giggle.

"Well you're really good" she praised him in a slightly breathless voice. His hands were still running patterns along her arms and the fact that their chests were touching was doing strange things to Hermiones head, making her feel a bit dizzy.

"You're not so bad yourself" he teased with a sparkle in his eye to match.

Hermione blushed and looked away, she loved it when his eyes sparkled like that but it was causing the walls in her mind to crack somewhat.

"I'm not that good" she told him modestly. "I was just wondering because our dance was amazing the other night...I wish we were able to finish it" she admitted in a daze. Her eyes boggled out of their sockets when she realized what she'd said and she mentally slapped herself.

'Hermione control your bloody self!' she cried.

Although she remained oblivious to it, Draco noticed her blush deepen and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her cheeks that had turned such a beautiful shade of red.

He considered what to say next before an idea came to mind and he knew just what to do to make her feel better. He smirked and shifted her legs off of his so that he could stand.

'Oh Merlins Beard, he's standing up. I've ruined it. Oh no, damn you Hermione and your big mout-'

"Can I show you something?" he asked her as he offered her his hand.

She blinked at it stupidly for a second, feeling stunned. Apparently she had lost the ability of speech as well as the ability to move.

She looked up into his face and saw his famous Draco smirk and the familiar sparkle in his eyes. She looked back at his outstretched hand and without a sparing a second thought, placed her right hand in his.

Hermione knew that she'd regret this later, but she didn't care. She missed the warmth of his hand and longed to feel his touch once more.

Draco smiled and pulled her effortlessly to her feet. She stumbled slightly and he caught her in his arms, their faces only inches apart. As tempted as he was to kiss her then, he decided to tease her and make her wait for it.

"Come with me" he whispered in a husky voice, just loud enough for her to hear it.

Hermione didn't hesitate to follow him as he took her by the hand and led her through the Portrait hole.

"Ah if I do say so it is a _fine_ night for moonlit walks my comrades!" exclaimed Sir Cadogan as his eyes fell upon Draco and Hermiones hands clasped together.

"Yes, I do remember when I was on a quest from the Duke of..." Hermione and Draco began their walk down the corridor, blocking out Sir Cadogans rambling. In that moment they were both so happy to be back in eachothers company that they only had ears and eyes for eachother.

Hermione let Draco lead her through the dark corridors of Hogwarts with only the the moonlight coming in through the windows to guide their way.

Although it was cold, Hermione couldn't remember a time when she'd ever felt warmer. Dracos touch did strange things to her body. Perhaps it was the fact that her heart was beating fast, or maybe it was the fact that her blush had not yet faded completely that made her feel so warm. But as Draco held her hand firmly in his, she knew that one thing was for sure - the goosebumps that had risen on her arms were not from the cold.

After what felt like seconds, Draco stopped and turned to Hermione with a smile.

"Close your eyes" he whispered in her ear, and a shiver of desire ran through Hermiones body at his sudden closeness.

"Close your eyes" he repeated and she looked into his beautiful silvery grey-blue eyes before succumbing to his request and closing her eyes.

Draco smiled and took her hand back in his and led her slowly down the last corridor on the way to their destination. She had been staring into his eyes the whole time they were walking and so she had not realized where he was taking her.

His heartbeat quickened at the thought of her reaction when he saw her surprise.

He made sure to walk slowly and carefully, whispering reassuring things to her as she followed him into the dark.

Even though Hermione was terrified of the dark, she couldn't feel more safe and it was then that she realized how much she trusted him.

Before she knew it, they had stopped and she felt Draco step behind her and cover her eyes with his hands.

She heard a soft rumbling sound and she opened her eyes under Dracos hands.

"Na-ah ah, keep them closed little Lioness" he whispered in her ear as he felt her eyelashes flutter open underneath his hands.

He couldn't help but smile a broad smile when he felt them close again and he used a non verbal spell to open the door that had appeared infront of them, and he gently guided her into the Room of Requirement. Where everything had begun over a week ago.

As soon as Hermione was in the room she felt an odd cooling sensation around her feet and heard soft music playing in the background although she could not place what it was.

She was tempted to open her eyes, but willed herself to keep them shut - waiting until Draco told her to open them.

Draco led Hermione into the centre of the room and only when she was perfectly positioned under the light of the moon did he step back infront of her and brush the hair out of her eyes as he whispered "Open your eyes love".

Hermione let her eyes flutter open and when her vision focused and adjusted to the dim lighting she gasped and an emotional lump formed in her throat at the sight that surrounded them.

They were standing in the centre of the Great Hall - or atleast the Room of Requirement that Draco had asked to look like the Great Hall.

The room looked just like Hermione remembered it from Saturday night - Willow Trees, Jack-o-lanterns, enchanted ceiling and all. The fog covered the floor and Hermiones heart melted when she realized what song was playing.

'Falling In Love With You' - The song they had danced to the other night. The night their lives had changed.

Hermione couldn't help but break into a watery smile as tears of happiness began to form in Hermiones eyes and continued to trickled down her cheeks when Draco smiled and offered her his hand once more.

"Shall we Granger?" he asked with a loving sparkle in his eyes. He would never admit it, but seeing her this happy caused tears to form in his own eyes.

The corners of her eyes creased as her smile grew bigger and she placed her hand in his, and had the strongest sense of deja-vu as she replied "We shall" in a playful flirty voice.

He pulled her close and twirled her into his arms and began leading her around the empty dancefloor.

If it was possible, this dance was even better than the last one.

It didn't matter to either of them that they weren't dressed for the occasion, they thought that their partner looked breathtaking in the soft light emitted throughout the hall from the moon and the candles.

It didn't matter to either of them that Hermione was crying, her tears of sadness had been replaced by tears of joy at the fact that she was being held in Dracos arms once more.

And it also didn't matter to either of them what lay ahead for them. Draco knew he would have to tell Hermione sooner or later what he was hiding, he knew he would have to confront his parents, he knew he would have to deal with things. But right now all he wanted to do was be with Hermione in this perfect moment. Hermione also realized things as Draco was leading her, twirling her and pulling her close. She knew that things with Draco would be difficult, but she wasn't going to try and deny her feelings any longer.

As the last verse of the song filled the Hall, Hermione placed her head on Dracos shoulder as he slowed the pace of the dance down and they swayed from side to side, bending his head to let his warm breath tickle her exposed neck.

She giggled and snuggled closer to him and he let his right hand fall from hers and held her by the waist.

Hermione knew that if Draco had asked for the Great Hall to be as it was the other night, then she had a feeling what was coming next. Sure enough, they felt a familiar cold tingly feeling above their heads and Hermione smiled as she looked up to see a miniature Dementor circling them from above.

Draco didn't bother looking up, he had specifically asked the Room to give him everything that had happened that night.

As Hermiones gaze drifted back to him, she smiled at him and a faint blush coloured her cheeks.

Liquid Gold met Winter Night once more and Dracos eyes landed on Hermiones lips.

Unlike the last time however, Hermiones lips were the first to reach Dracos and she let her hands lock behind his neck, pulling him closer to her.

Draco responded by deepening the kiss by moving one hand to small of her back while keeping the other securely on her waist to ensure that no space was left between them.

Their lips moved in sync and gradually, sweetness turned into passion and Hermione found that her knees grew so weak to point they were shaking as she pulled back to gasp for air.

Draco smiled down at her and began placing a trail of kisses from her jawline to just below her ear, letting his lips linger at the sensitive spot just behind it and sucking on it slightly. He heard her gasp and release a soft moan and his lips smirked against her skin.

What was perfect about this moment was not the fact that Hermione and Draco got to relive this moment again, but the fact that they were completely alone. Completely and entirely free to be with eachother for as long as they wanted.

Draco pulled back and Hermione reached up onto her tiptoes to give him one last soft kiss before the last line of the song filled the hall and echoed off of the walls around them.

_"For I can't help, falling in love with you"_

This time as Hermione and Draco heard the words they realized how true they were. Draco had been separated from Hermione for 3 days now, and although he did not know why, he didn't particularly care anymore. He knew that he had 100% fallen for her now, and there was no going back. Hermione also realized that as the song changed to another romantic classic that she couldn't be without Draco anymore. As Draco twirled her out and then back into his arms again to continue their dance, their eyes locked again.

Honey-brown met blue-grey.

Liquid Gold met Winter Night.

And as both of their eyes burned with the same passion, love and desire for the other: Fire met Ice.

In this moment Ron could not be further from Hermiones mind.

In this moment Hermione realized that she did not want to be apart from Draco anymore, because it was only in his arms that she was truly happy.

In this moment Hermiones mental walls came tumbling down and she couldn't help but think if this was the start of something incredibly special. Was this the sparks of true love? Was this the beginning of an eternal flame?

As the couple danced well in to the night, gazing into eachothers eyes they remained oblivious to the troubles brewing just outside the door. They remained oblivious to the fact that they were being plotted against as they moved together across the dance-floor in their world of bliss. They remained oblivious to the fact that a particular black beetle was lurking just outside of the door - waiting for them to reappear...


	8. Dirty Little Secret

- Dirty Little Secret: Chapter 8 -

Hermione stirred in her sleep early on Wednesday morning. She buried her head further into her pillow – which was rather warm and cozy - and turned over so that she could snuggle into the warm part of her bed.

Was her bed usually this soft? Hmm apparently it was, although Hermione could have sworn that usually her bed made a soft creaking noise whenever she turned over.

Oh well, she was comfortable enough. Deciding not to dwell on it, Hermione began to drift back into the land of sleep, hoping to get another half an hour of shut eye before her alarm woke her up.

Hermione sighed happily, enjoying the warmth and coziness that enveloped her. Usually her room was cold in the morning.

That was when she became aware of a pressure on her waist.

"Ugh Crookshanks" Hermione groaned, not opening her eyes and brushed her hand over her waist to get her cat to move. He was such a bed hogger and he liked to cuddle Hermione to keep warm.

But what her hand came into contact with was not Crookshanks bushy fur, his claws or his tail.

Her hand came into contact with that of another, one that smooth and soft yet very masculine and sturdy – one that was holding her waist.

She gasped and that's when she could smell it, the expensive musky cologne and the spearmint toothpaste that lingered on his warm breath that brushed against her forehead.

Her eyes shot open and she sat bolt upright in her bed. Except this wasn't _her_ bed.

Hermione was lying on a single four-poster twin bed, with a black wrought iron headboard and a matching baseboard. It was very intricate, forming intertwining spirals and loops that flowed together and seemed to create a picture, although Hermione couldn't figure out what it was.

It was only when she shuffled further down the bed and she looked back that she realized the black iron tubes that were intertwined formed the body of a snake and a lion which were playing together.

As she took in the headboard she saw something shiny out of the corner of her eye and turned to see the black spiral bedposts. They, like the headboard, were also works of art – with silver see-through gossamer curtains tied in pretty red ribbons around each one. Something was carved repeatedly into each one, following the spiral of each post. It was written in cursive handwriting, but Hermione could not for the life of her read it from where she was sitting and didn't want to move closer and jostle the bed too much.

She sat up further and stretched, bringing her arms up above her head and stretching her spine, releasing a soft groan as she felt her spine crack and she settled back down. It was then that a leaf fluttered down in front of her face and landed in her lap.

Puzzled, she looked up to see that the bed was underneath a large Willow Tree. Hermione's mind went blank for a moment, confused as to why she was here.

But as she took in her surroundings, all of the memories from last night came flooding back – causing a big goofy smile to be plastered on Hermione's face.

The Great Hall (or the Room of Requirements _version_ of the Great Hall) was dimly lit as the first rays of the morning sun filtered in through the enchanted ceiling. The candles from last night had burned out and as Hermione's eyes drifted towards the dance floor her smile only grew bigger and she sighed happily.

Last night had been perfect, just her and Draco – dancing the night away.

'That's how it should have been the first time!' she told herself. A ripple of pleasure ran down Hermione's spine as she remembered how he had held her in his arms and how his lips had felt against her own – soft but very, very passionate. As if he _needed_ her kiss.

It was as she was imagining his lips on her own that she felt the bed move a little bit and her eyes were drawn back to the very person that had caused her to wake up in the first place.

She saw the imprint her body had left in the sheets and as she realized how she'd been sleeping last night a soft blush coloured her cheeks. She and Draco had been lying incredibly close together, his right arm sprawled across the pillow and her head must have been resting on his rather toned, muscular bicep – the sleeves of his shirt had been rolled up, giving Hermione full access to ogle at his amazing arms.

That was the warmth she had been feeling when she woke up. His right arm had been wrapped around her waist the entire night. That was why Hermione slept so peacefully.

Usually she flailed around in her sleep and was quite restless, but it seemed that having his presence in the bed next to her stopped all of that – giving Hermione the best sleep she had had in weeks, if not months.

Hermione admired Draco as he slept. His short blonde hair fell into his eyes, causing Hermione to wish they would flutter open so that she could gaze into them once more.

His lips were parted slightly as he took deep, relaxing breaths. Apparently he had slept just as well as she had.

Draco's sleeping face was the very definition of serenity, and as odd as it may seem – Hermione had never seen anything more beautiful.

His shirt had been untucked, probably in his sleep and because they had slept on top of the covers last night, Hermione could see a tiny little bit of his six-pack as his shirt was ruffled. It also revealed the treasure trail that started just underneath his belly button and disappeared under the waistband of his trousers.

Hermione suddenly became a bit lightheaded and she shook her head as she felt her face flush. This was the first time she had ever spent the night with a boy – or in Draco's case, a man.

Ye, she had slept in the same room and everything as Ron and Harry, but that didn't really count. Never had she shared the same bed with anyone like this before - someone she really liked.

In the time that she had been dating Ron, not even _they_ had shared the same bed.

It may sound silly, but for Hermione it was an intimate thing – sharing the same bed. Even though she had known Ron since she was 11 – they had never really made that connection before. That connection that lets you trust someone so completely and irrevocably that you feel so comfortable just to get in a bed with them.

The corners of her lips turned up slightly as she realized just how comfortable she felt around Draco. He was one of the few people in her life who could make her feel incredibly happy by just being there.

Last night Hermione had been a wreck. Sitting outside by the Black Lake thinking about her situation with Draco did nothing but upset her. But after being in the room with him for only five minutes, being cradled in his arms, she was reminded of why she felt the way she did.

All of her problems seemed to melt away when they were together. Almost as if her problems were causing her pain, and he was an instant painkiller – numbing it and allowing her to see through the pain and feel happy again.

Surely if she could feel this way around someone, then it was right…wasn't it?

'Oh to Hell with caring about whether this is right or wrong' she told herself. 'It feels right, so I'm just going to go with it' she vowed to herself.

'About bloody time' the voice inside her head told her. Once again, Hermione couldn't help but agree with the voice – afterall, it was always right.

Deep down Hermione knew the right thing was to be with Draco, she just needed the confidence to accept it. And he gave her that.

She didn't know if it was the fact that he was amazingly gorgeous or just amazing in general, but somehow he managed to make her feel incredibly confident whenever she was around him – as though she could do anything.

'If only there was some way I could let him know how thankful I am…' she wondered in her head, contemplating how to let him know she was grateful for him and that she was ready to step out of the awkward 'are we friends or something more?' stage.

'He makes me flustered, so I don't trust my brain to get the words out properly…maybe I can bake him a cake? Oh for the love of Merlin no Hermione. Just no. UGH what can I do? How can I sh-' Hermione's mental rambling was interrupted as a thought struck her.

Usually Hermione would not be this bold, so she blamed (and thanked) her newfound confidence for what she did next.

She lay back down on the bed and propped herself up on her left elbow as she faced him.

She repeated his actions from the night before and gently tilted his chin upwards to face her and let her eyes fall shut as she bent in slowly for a kiss.

The kiss started off as sweet before Hermione deepened it by pouring her feelings and emotions into it and pressing her lips harder against his. She tried to communicate just how she was feeling in that kiss; how thankful she was to have him, how much she cared, how much she was beginning to fall for him…

Her lips smiled against his as she felt his head snap up slightly and she pulled back, a little breathless.

Draco looked around, but when his eyes fell upon Hermione who was lying next to him he realized it was her who had given him such a wonderful wake up call.

He could still taste her on his lips – she tasted like the most delicious combination of strawberries and cream. He hadn't been expecting it, but being determined not to let this dream end, he took her by surprise and slipped his arm back around her waist and his lips came crashing down on her.

She chuckled quietly against his lips as he pulled her closer to him, so she was leaning over him slightly.

His fingers found the way to the back of her neck, pulling her lips even closer to his and he let his tongue snake out of his mouth and trace her bottom lip.

Hermione gasped at the sensations that surged through her body in that moment; lust, passion, desire – and as she parted her lips and her tongue met his, her fingers found their way to his silky smooth hair and tangled themselves in it.

Draco had no idea what he had done to deserve such a wake up call, but he certainly wasn't complaining. The way her body was pushed up against his made his vision fog red with a longing desire and he couldn't help but want to be closer to her.

He propped himself up on his elbow, never breaking the kiss, and ran his arm down the length of her thigh. His touch raised goosebumps to form along her leg and a soft moan escaped her lips as he repeated the action, gradually moving his closer to her inner thigh with each stroke.

Draco smiled a smugly against her lips, loving the fact that he was able to get such a reaction out of her from doing the simplest of things. Her soft moans only encouraged him and before Hermione realized it, he had rolled over so that he was on top of her, letting her lie back with her head against the soft pillow.

He braced himself with one arm so that not all of his weight was on her, but just enough to make her groan as she felt his body press against hers. His other hand moved from her leg and slowly travelled over her waist.

He broke the kiss first, but not before he nibbled on her bottom lip, and began slowly placing a trail of kisses from her jaw up to the sensitive spot underneath her ear.

Draco remembered her reaction last night when he had sucked on the sensitive spot under her ear lobe, and this time she moaned louder and began to squirm as the pleasure was intensified with their bodies pressed together.

He let his hand trace the voluptuous curves that made her waist, over her toned tummy and slowly up to her chest. He let his hand linger on the side of her left breast and teasingly stroked the pad of his thumb over it, smirking inwardly when she arched her back further into him before letting his hand rest in the curve of her neck.

He chuckled as he heard her groan almost disapprovingly at the fact that he had teased her and moved his lips back to hers to silence her.

Of course she wasn't angry at him for much longer as his tongue found hers once more and they danced a slow, passionate dance together – much like what Draco and Hermione had done on the dancefloor last night.

As their breathing slowed down, and the tango that was going on between their tongues turned into more of a slow waltz Draco began planting soft pecks on her lips which were swollen from their heated kisses.

She pecked back and removed her fingers from his hair to run them along his smooth and defined jaw.

He let his hands play with a stray curl by her ear and he heard her giggle as it tickled her when it brushed against her neck.

He pulled back and smiled, still on top of her, and kissed the end of her nose.

"Good morning" he said in a husky voice and began to stroke her cheek with his thumb. Her skin was so soft that it felt like silk beneath his fingers and he couldn't bring himself to stop.

She let her eyes flutter open and honey brown met stormy grey.

"Morning" she replied in a breathless voice. Kissing Draco was not like kissing anybody else – it really was an experience.

Hermione was completely unaccustomed as to what to say to a person you've just spent the night with, but as Draco continued to stroke her cheek and gaze at her adoringly a thought crossed her mind.

"Urm Draco? Where did the bed come from?" she asked him in a curious tone as another leaf fluttered down from the canopy of leaves above the bed.

Draco followed her gaze to the tree above them and chuckled when he looked back at the girl infront of him and pulled a leaf out of her bushy morning hair.

"Well no offense love, but at around 2:30am it was sort of like dancing with a plank of wood – you were falling asleep on me!" he chuckled at her angry pout and how her forehead creased when she frowned. In that moment she was too adorable and Draco couldn't help but kiss her flushed cheeks. His lips turned into a smirk against her skin and he kissed the light dusting of freckles across her nose before pulling back and tucking a stray curl behind her ear. "I could have carried you back to the Common Room, but I figured you wouldn't want to risk being seen…so I asked the Room for a place to sleep" he told her in a casual voice as he smiled at her.

"Well you were right" she admitted as she nuzzled her cheek into his hand. She loved the feel of his skin against hers.

Draco chuckled and that's when he looked around at the bed and noticed something.

"Well I'm glad…although I could have sworn that the bed was larger when we went to sleep" he said thoughtfully. His eyes landed on the inscription that was written continuously around each bed post and the corners of Dracos eyes wrinkled as he smiled his breathtaking smile, his heart doing little flips.

Hermione followed his line of vision and frowned, she still couldn't read the writing but judging from Draco's reaction – she guessed that he could.

"I guess the room thought we should be closer together," he stated in a far away voice.

Hermione slid her hands over his hard chest and his eyes drifted back to hers.

"Why whatever for?" she asked feigning innocence with a flirtacious smile playing on her lips.

Draco let his hand roam freely along the side of her body and rest on the back of her neck, pulling her closer towards him.

"I can think of a few things" he whispered huskily before capturing her lips with his. He could taste it again, the heavenly taste of strawberries and cream that was Hermione and for the first time he began to feel light headed. To him, she tasted amazing and he just couldn't get enough of her.

She felt herself relax and lean into him, deepening the kiss and letting her instincts take over. Her hands roamed over his chest and he released what sounded like a low guttural moan.

Hermione didn't know it, but her touch had the exact same effect on him as it did on her.

Her hands found their way to the back of his neck and she let her fingers play with the hairs there, causing him to shudder.

Their kiss became more feverish and Hermione moaned into their kiss as she felt him place his hands on her waist and she moved to straddle him. He groaned out of desire when he felt her weight on top of him, his hips nestled in-between her legs.

To his surprise she was the first to break the kiss and he tilted his head back as she moved her lips to his neck and began placing fevered kisses down it, all the way down to his collarbone.

Hermione didn't know what was causing her to do act like this, but she wasn't ready to stop anytime soon and ran her nails over his shirt, down the front of his chest. Her lips curved into a smile against her neck when she felt him shudder and she moved her lips back to his.

As Draco felt her lips against his again, he let his eyes flutter open. The sunlight streaming in through the enchanted ceiling above them caused the outline of Hermione's body to glow as she was silhouetted against the morning light.

'Wait, morning light? The sun is up already? But that means- aw crap' thought Draco and he released a frustrated groan against her lips as their tongues massaged eachother.

Hermione mistook that groan as one of pleasure and with a self-satisfied smile began to place more kisses along his jaw and down his neck.

"Hermione" Draco said in a slightly breathless voice, removing his hands from her slender hips to shield his eyes from the morning sun.

"Mmm?" Hermione responded, still planting kisses down his neck and along the top of his shirt which she had began to unbutton.

"Love, the sun's up, if we're going to make it to first period then we have to go pretty soon" he said with a sigh.

Hermiones eyes flew open, ending the blissful lust she had been feeling only seconds before.

She sat up, still straddling Draco and looked around. He was right, the sun was completely up and she remembered that she had agreed to meet Ginny for breakfast that morning.

Completely forgetting that she was on a single bed, Hermione rolled off of Draco – expecting to roll onto the other side of the bed, but instead falling flat on the floor.

Draco propped himself up on one elbow and his eyes widened as he looked over the edge of the bed.

"Hermione! Are you ok love?"

Her face was close to the colour of the strawberries that she tasted like, and Hermione didn't see the point in trying to suppress her blush. She pushed herself off of the ground, rubbing her sore bum as she stood up. That stone floor was brutal.

"Y-yes" she replied, trying to act cool about it. "I'm alright" she tried to assure him as she tucked a few curls behind her ears and straightened her sweater. She realized she wass till wearing the same clothes from last night and she groaned when she realized she still had to get showered, change, grab breakfast and get to first period – all with in the next ten minutes.

Draco sat up and draped his legs over the side of the bed and slinked his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him.

"I'm pretty sure I can make it better" he told her with a coy smile on his face. "You know, return the favour for healing me the other night?" he said as he began to inch her sweater back up and his hands roamed along the waistline of her jeans.

She gasped when she felt him run his finger along the back of her jeans and arched her back into him before another leaf fluttered down from the trees and landed in her hair – reminding her that they had to go.

"Oh I'm sure you can –" she told him as she caught his wrists, stopping them from doing anything else that could impair her thinking. "But we have to go, now. I've got to meet Ginny in…Oh Merlin's beard what time is it?" she cried as she searched the room for a clock- a sun dial – anything that told the time!

Just at that, a clock appeared in the tree trunk behind the bed and her eyes boggled out of their sockets.

"7:15?" she screeched as she began to panic even more. "Breakfast starts in fifteen minutes!" she exclaimed as she grabbed Draco's hand and dragged him up from the bed and through the hall towards the large Oak doors, which had materialized seconds before.

"Hermione l-" Draco tried to say but Hermione cut him off as she opened the doors and dragged him outside.

The hallway was deserted thank goodness, but they could hear students descending the stairs at the end of the corridor going to breakfast.

Hermione tried to drag Draco down the hallway before he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into the shadows of a large gargoyle statue.

"No Draco please let me! I'm so late! I can't believe we didn't leave sooner! I have to get showered, changed, meet Ginny – oh Merlin she'll be so annoyed if I ditch her! Oh Galloping Gargoyles I'm so in over my he-"

"_Hermione_" Draco said a bit more forcefully as he clamped his hand over her mouth to stop her incessant rambling.

She tried to struggle against his touch, but after realizing she wasn't going anywhere she let out an irritated groan and stomped her foot as she leaned against the statue. She folded her arms and glared at him.

The morning suns rays broke through the winter clouds and streamed through the windows to their right, casting a beautiful glow over Draco – making his hair shine as it fell into his eyes. Hermione was convinced she saw a strange flash, but reasoned that it must have been the way the sun shone off of his golden hair.

His eyes sparkled and the silver within the blue danced in the light.

Normally, Hermione would have swooned and gladly let him force her against the wall in a secluded corridor, but right now she hated that his gorgeousness had the ability to shut her up.

"For starters –" he said taking a step towards her, forcing her against the statue even more "- it's a bit hard to leave when I have a beautiful girl on top of me, unbuttoning my shirt" he told her with a mischievous smirk as his chest pressed against hers, causing her breasts to swell with the pressure under her sweater.

"Secondly –" he continued as his breath caressed the side of her face as he rested his head against hers "- we have plenty of time. Or at least you do, you don't have to go back to the Common Room love. Come with me" he said as he tugged her hand and the pleasant pressure on Hermione's body was gone.

She let out a disgruntled groan when he pulled away and Draco chuckled.

"Come on my little Lioness" he beckoned as he walked back towards the room.

Although he had removed his hand from her mouth, she was still unable to talk and simply followed him back to the Room of Requirement doors.

She looked at him quizzically as he closed his eyes and she heard a low rumbling as the doors changed shape and shrunk in size. Moments later a small, single door stood infront of her and he turned to her with a smug grin, motioning for her to open the door.

She was still puzzled but reached her hand out for the door handle which looked surprisingly familiar – although she couldn't think why and cracked the door open slightly and looked in.

She gasped.

It was her bedroom, everything – except Crookshanks – in it, just as it was when she left it yesterday.

Hermione took a step inside and then turned to look back at Draco, stuck for words.

"Th-thankyou! Oh my goodness you have no idea how much I appreciate this! Thankyou!" she told him as she hurled herself into his arms and suffocated him with a bone breaking hug as she threw her arms around his neck. She saw the strange flashing again coming from further down the corridor, but closed her eyes and ignored it – enjoying the closeness with Draco.

Draco was surprised, but chuckled as he hugged her back, letting his hands rest on her hips. He inhaled her sweet scent and kissed the top of her head before pulling back and shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's alright Love, atleast you'll be on time to meet the Weaslette – I mean –" he had to force the words out of his mouth "-Ginny" he managed to say.

She smiled up at him and planted a quick kiss on his mouth before turning and running back to 'her bedroom' door.

"Thanks handsome" she told him with a wink as she waved at him. "I'll see you later" she told him with a flirty smile.

He smiled back, finding it unbelievably sexy when she winked at him like that. Her curls were back to bouncing about her shoulders and the panicked look in her eyes was completely gone – his work here was done.

"Indeed you will" he replied in a suggestive tone as he winked back at her, causing her to giggle and he turned to walk away down the corridor.

Hermione watched him leave, and as he rounded the corner she placed a finger on her bottom lip which was still tingling with their passionate kisses from just minutes before.

She saw the strange flashing again, this time from much closer and saw an oddly shaped black beetle out of the corner of her eye. Hermione had never been one for bugs and made to grab her wand, when it scurried away through a crack in the wall.

Ignoring it, Hermione closed the door and ran into the bathroom which was attatched to the room and let the hot water from the shower cover her – imagining the warm droplets of water to be the warmth of Draco's body against her own.

"Parkinson!"

Pansy heard her name being called as she, Blaise and Theodore walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. She turned and clenched her jaw as she saw Lavender running down the stairs and through the Entrance Hall towards her – attracting the attention of many onlookers.

"What does that little Mudblood slut want?" Blaise inquired as he watched Lavender push through groups of students to get to them.

"I'm damned if I know" Pansy lied coolly and she looked up at Blaise who was staring at her with a stunned expression.

"Come on Pans, ignore her. I'm starving" Theodore begged her. His dark hair hung in his face and he brushed it back with his fingers, revealing his cool blue eyes underneath which were ogling at Pansy.

With the help of Blaise, Theo had recently been trying to get Pansy's attention and get to know her.

Most people considered Pansy to be a bit of a bitch, but he admired that and took it as her simply being a strong woman. He liked that, and he had to admit that he didn't find her to be pug-faced in the slightest.

On the contrary he adored the way her nose turned up at the end and how her squished little face scrunched up even more when she was angry – which was quite a lot recently for some reason.

He loved the way her eyes glinted in the light of the morning sun and anger danced in them dangerously – like they were doing just now.

"I told you not to call me that! Ugh Blaise –" Pansy flicked her dark behind her shoulder, causing it to whip into Theos face and she looked up at Blaise next to her, oozing authority "-go inside. Take Nott with you will you? I'll deal with Brown".

Blaise blinked at her.

"Since when did you start calling Mudbloods by their proper name?" he asked curiously as he eyed her carefully.

She had been acting differently since the start of the year and Blaise knew she was hiding something – although he had no idea what it was.

"Since it's first thing in the morning and my inner bitch hasn't woken up yet" she countered, killing the butterflies in her stomach that had taken flight when she realized she had slipped up.

"Ye, you were up late last night weren't you? I waited in the Common Room for you until 11:30…where were you?" asked Theo taking a step closer to her.

Pansy shoved him away, causing him to stagger back slightly and took a step back.

"Remind me Nott why I should answer to you? Oh that's right – I don't. Piss off will you?" she snapped at him. He had really been getting on her nerves lately.

"I think her inner bitch has gotten it's morning cup of coffee mate" Blaise acknowledged and put his hand on a rather dejected Theo. "Come on mate" he said as he steerd Theo away from Pansy, wrinkling his nose in disgust as Lavender got closer to them.

Pansy waited until the piercing eyes of Blaise and Nott disappeared behind the doors and as soon as Lavender was close enough, grabbed her by the arm and dragged her behind a nearby tapestry – interrupting a snogging couple.

"Get a room before I throw up my breakfast and take ten points from Ravenclaw Chang" Pansy spat at Cho and Ernie MacMillan who jumped apart from eachother out of shock, but scowled when they saw who it was.

"Bitch" Cho muttered under her breath as she grabbed Ernie's hand and went back into the Entrance Hall.

"Slag" Pansy retorted back.

"Bit of a hypocritical statement coming from you isn't it Parkinson?" Lavender sneered at her with a cocky expression.

"You're one to talk" Pansy snapped back at her. She watched as the smirk was wiped from Lavender's face but carried on before she had a chance to say anything else. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? Nobody is supposed to see us together you bimbo" Pansy said condescendingly, placing a hand on her hip as she looked at the girl infront of her.

Lavender puffed her chest out and glared at Pansy.

"I know that you hag" Lavender replied spitefully. She and Pansy had done nothing but fight last night after they sent the letter, and she was really starting to hate working with her on this.

But when the envelope arrived minutes ago in her dormitory she just had to tell Pansy.

"She sent these to me, about five minutes ago" Lavender said in a controlled voice as she took her arm out from behind her back, revealing an envelope clasped in her hands.

Pansys eyes bulged and she snatched it from Lavender's hands before she could say or do anything else.

Pansy opened it up and began looking through its contents, clenching her jaw and gritting her teeth as her grasp on the envelope tightened and her hands began to shake with anger.

This was just too much. How dare they! He knew perfectly well what was happening this summer! And he was doing this? Oh no, this was not happe-

"So what are we going to do?" asked Lavender in a bored voice as she interrupted Pansy's mental babbling.

Pansy who didn't appreciate the interruption rounded on Lavender. She was still shaking with anger but composed herself and wore her bitchy expression and sneered at the girl infront of her.

"Well _we_ aren't going to do a thing. _I_ am going to breakfast. _You_ are going to send these to the Weasel's sister" Pansy told her as she turned to leave the small room.

"Don't you dare call my Won-Won a Weasel! And why in the name of Merlins sweaty balls am I sending these to Ron's s-"

"I don't have time to explain my decisions to you Brown. Just do it."

Before Lavender could say anything Pansy had left, leaving the fabric of the tapestry swaying behind her.

Lavender sighed and looked at the envelope in her hand.

She hadn't looked inside it, and quite frankly she didn't really care what it contained. As long as Granger got what was coming to her, that's all she cared about.

With a new determination burning inside of her, Lavender turned and made her way back through the Tapestry, across the Entrance Hall and into the grounds in the direction of the Owlery as the snow floated down from the winter sky.

The icy chill that swirled around her didn't bother her. Right now, Lavenders heart was as cold as the winter wind.

Hermione ran into the Great Hall for breakfast at 7:40am – ten minutes late for breakfast.

"Oh look! Sleeping Beauty decided to join us! How very kind of you" said Ginny as Hermione slipped into the seat beside her, catching her breath as she sat down.

"Oh Gin I'm so sorry! My err alarm didn't go off and Crookshanks didn't wake me!" Hermione lied as she avoided the curious gazes of Neville, Luna, Dean and Ginny as she piled a stack of pancakes onto her plate.

"Mmm-hmm sure. Oh and by the way Hermione? Just thought I'd let you know that your top is inside out" Ginny remarked before she turned back to her plate of food and took a sip of Pumpkin Juice.

"What do you mean top is inside out? No it's not its – Oh for the love of Merlin!" Hermione cried as pulled her school robes over her blouse to cover up the fact that it was infact inside out. She also failed to notice that while she was rushing around and getting dressed, she had chosen to wear a bright red bra – Gryfindor colours obviously – which was showing through the thin material of her blouse.

Hermione blushed and when she caught Cormac McLaggen winking at her – just like Draco had done about twenty minutes ago – she wanted nothing more than for the floor to swallow her up and rid her of her own stupidity.

Ginny wasn't stupid, she knew something was going on. Hermione was never late, never, ever, ever. And she certainly didn't go around wearing the wrong kind of bra under a white blouse – no matter how rushed she was.

Something was distracting Hermione, and it bugged Ginny that she obviously wasn't trusted enough to know what it was. On top of that, Ginny hated being lied to and stood up.

She knew Hermione was lying. Ginny had been at Hermione's Common Room ten minutes ago looking for her (Sir Cadogan really was a sucker when it came to pretty 'maidens' flirting with him and gladly let her in).

Ginny had looked everywhere, but after searching Hermione's room and only finding Crookshanks on the bed with no Hermione in sight – Ginny actually considered asking Malfoy if he had seen her.

She had walked up to his bedroom door to knock on it, but thought better of it.

Draco would have no idea where Hermione was, that was a stupid thought. So she had come back down to the Great Hall and sat with her friends until Hermione showed up.

Ginny knew something was going on. And she was determined to find out what it was.

"Are you ok Hermione?" asked Dean as he saw her face flush bright red and keep her eyes fixed on the plate infront of her.

Hermione coughed as she choked on her piece of pancake and Neville had to thump her on the back to clear her airway.

"Y-Yes! Why would yo-you ask?" Hermione responded in-between splutters as she tried to get her breathing back under control and wiped at her watery eyes.

"No reason…it's just that you seem a bit – I don't know, jumpy today? You keep looking towards the doors and then over to the Ravenclaw table" he said with a shrug and went back to his breakfast.

Hermione's eyes bulged. Had she really been looking towards the door that much? Oops. But when Dean thought she had been looking at the Ravenclaw table, she had actually been looking at the Slytherin one – in the hopes of seeing a head of beautiful blonde hair. Of course he wouldn't think she had. That would be unheard of.

"Were you looking for that boy you went to the Ball with? He was lovely wasn't he?" asked Luna in a dreamy voice as she made a strange ancient symbol out of the berries and pieces of fruit on her plate.

"Well actually no I wasn'-"

"Oh of course she was" said Ginny in an obvious tone of voice, the sparks of anger burning in her eyes. "Do tell us Hermione what was his name again?" she asked, leaning forward in her seat as her eyes pierced into Hermiones.

'What are you hiding?' thought Ginny as she searched Hermione's eyes for a sign of something that could tell her what was going on.

"I err – I mean I already told you his name" Hermione stammered.

"Yes, Scorpius Hyperion wasn't it? It's just funny seeing as nobody has heard of him" Ginny added in a tone that implied she knew that Hermione was talking rubbish.

"I ummm..well you see the thing with that is…ummm…Oh look! The post is here!" she cried in a relieved voice, grateful for the sudden distraction as owls flew in through the windows and landed in front of the students.

It was then that a large tawny barn owl landed infront of Ginny, who was slightly confused as the owl held out its leg for her to remove the envelope that was attarched to it.

"Did your family get a new owl?" Neville asked Ginny as she just blinked at the creature infront of her that was waiting patiently.

"Not that I know of…maybe it's from Aunt Muriel?" Ginny wondered aloud as she removed the envelope and peered inside.

A shocked gasp sounded throughout the small group of friends and Hermione looked up from her breakfast and turned to her friend who had a hand clasped over her mouth and her eyes positively protruding out of her head.

"Ginny? What's wrong?" Hermione asked cautiously, placing a hand softly on Ginny's shoulder.

Ginny's head snapped round to meet Hermiones, her long red hair appearing to burn an even brighter shade – like fire. Her brown eyes seemed to turn into molten lava and Hermione was convinced she saw a flash of red in them.

What was wrong?

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong – according to _some_ people" she answered back in a curt voice, shrugging Hermione's hand from her shoulder and standing up. "It's almost time for lessons – we should go" she told her friends in a clipped tone and then turned on her heel and walked away – the envelope still in her hand.

Before she was out of ear shot from the table she turned back around and called "Hermione! I have Quidditch Practice after school. Meet me by the Black Lake at 5:00" and then she turned once more and left the Great Hall.

Everyone at the table looked at eachother, confused as to what just happened.

Hermione had no idea what was wrong with Ginny or why she was acting this way – it wasn't like her. But rather than push her luck by asking her and bugging Ginny even more, Hermione stood up and motioned for her friends to follow.

Today had been a really odd day for Hermione.

Don't get her wrong - the morning had been absolutely perfect! This was nothing to do with Draco at all.

He and her had been like lovesick puppies all day – smiling from across the class when nobody was looking, stealing glances at eachother at lunch…he even managed to drag her into a broom cupboard on her way to Transfiguration and give her a kiss before running off to his own class.

Normally Hermione would never even think of exhibiting this kind of behaviour, but when she was with Draco something odd happened to her. He brought out the best in her – the cute, playful, confident, bubbly Hermione that everyone loved.

But he also raised the naughty little devil that apparently Hermione did not know she even had inside of her. The naughty little Hermione that snuck into broom cupboards with boys inbetween classes and snogged them senseless.

She had to admit that although she never would have dreamed of acting like this, she loved it – and was not willing to stop anytime soon.

No, this was nothing to do with Draco.

It was everything to do with Ginny.

After she had left the Great Hall that morning, Ginny had kept the envelope on her at all times. She didn't once talk to Hermione all day, and couldn't even bring herself to look at her either. It was as if Hermione had a serious form of Spattergroit and to be seen talking or looking at her would be hazardous to Ginny's health.

Hermione sat underneath the Oak Tree as the Winter sun set over the Black Lake. It was 5:15pm and Hermione had been waiting for Ginny for over 20 minutes.

She wrapped her school robes tighter around her body to stop the biting chill from reaching her skin and rubbed her hands together to warm herself.

This was ridiculous. Ginny was never late – what was keeping her?

'If she's not here in five minutes, then I'll lea-'

"Thinking of leaving Hermione? I thought it wouldn't be a bad thing to keep you waiting seeing as you did the same to me this morning" came a voice that was as frosty as the winter air from behind Hermione.

Hermione turned to find Ginny standing completely motionless under the canopy of the Oak tree.

Her long red, wavy hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail and she was wearing her red and gold Gryffindor Quidditch robes. Her jaw was clenched, her eyes ablaze and the envelope grasped firmly in her shaking hand.

Hermione gulped. Never had she seen her friend like this before.

"Ginny…what's wrong? What's that?" Hermione asked, motioning with her hand towards the envelope in Ginnys hand – well it was a fist really – as she took a cautious step towards her.

"Oh this?" Ginny asked in a mock innocent voice as she held the envelope up, not looking at it. What was inside was burned into the back of her eyelids – she didn't need to look at it to know what was inside. "Just something interesting I got in the post this morning. Take a look" she spat the last words at Hermione as she threw the envelope on the ground in front of her.

Hermione eyed the envelope on the snow covered ground carefully, suddenly feeling very wary in intimidated by the girl standing before her.

"Go ahead, maybe you'll actually trust me enough to listen to me and look inside it" Ginny said snidely as she watched Hermione bend down and reach for the envelope carefully.

Hermione looked one last time at her friend before opening the envelope and looking inside.

As soon as she opened it, moving Polaroid pictures flew out of it and arranged themselves in a circle around Hermione.

She looked at the first one infront of her and her breath caught in her throat and her knees actually gave way underneath her.

She stared at the picture in shock and complete horror.

It was a picture of her and Draco with Draco leading her by the hand and into the Room of Requirment. Hermione noted that her eyes were closed and she saw the smile on Dracos face as he moved to stand behind her and cover her eyes with his hands. To anyone else, it looked as though Draco was whispering sweet nothings into her ear – but Hermione knew that he was telling her to keep her eyes closed.

She turned to the next picture which was equally as worse as the first one.

Draco pushing Hermione up against the wall of the statue and Hermione closing her eyes and sighing as their chests touched. Hermione remembered the ripple of pleasure that flowed through her in that moment and she shuddered once more at the thought of it.

The picture showed how she grabbed Draco's arm, seemingly pulling him closer. Had she actually done that? Apparently she had.

The pictures gradually got worse.

Hermione throwing herself into Draco's arms and hugging him.

Hermione winking at Draco before closing the door to the Room of Requirement.

And then there were pictures that were not from this morning, but from throughout the day.

Draco pulling Hermione into the broom cupboard on her way to Transfiguration.

Hermione emerging out of said broom cupboard with rumpled clothes from the intense kissing they had been doing moments before and tucking her curls behind her ears and straightening out her blouse.

Draco smiling to Hermione from across the Potions classroom and Hermione smiling back, completely blessed out.

She couldn't bring herself to look at them anymore and felt her eyes well up with tears and spill down her cheeks.

This was the worst possible way for Ginny to find out.

"I believe what you said about your Alarm not going off – expect it was obviously the Alarm inside your fucking head that didn't go off" spat Ginny as she remained standing over her best friend.

"I can't believe you'd do something like this! And to lie about it for so long! How could you? Do you have any idea of all of the pain he has caused us over the years Hermione? Do you even remember half the things he's done? _**HE LET HIS AUNT TORTURE YOU HERMIONE! **__**HE TRIED TO KILL YOU, HARRY AND RON IN THE ROOM OF REQUIREMENT**__**! **__**HE KILLED DUMBLEDO**_-"

"STOP! He didn't kill Dumbldore, Ginny! He couldn't bring himself to do it! You know that! Please, I know it's difficult to understand bu-"

"Difficult? Difficult! No Hermione. 'Difficult' is not being able to pull of a maneuver in Quidditch or not understanding something in Charms. But this? This is fucking impossible. IMPOSSIBLE!" she bellowed at her friend, silencing her immediately.

Hermione actually yelped at the sound of her friends angry voice. She had never seen anything like this, not even when Mrs. Weasley was on the rampage at her sons.

The lump in her throat was making it almost impossible for her to speak, but Hermione took a deep breath to calm herself down before continuing

"I don't expect you to forgive me Ginny…I know I've hurt you by lying…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to – I wanted to tell you. I really did, but I couldn't" she said in a small voice, as she looked down at the snow on the ground. "You never would have believed me if I had told you he's changed…and he really has Ginny. He's a completely different person."

"You're damned right I wouldn't have believed you! I'm all for believing in miracles Hermione, but not fairytales. It would take a lot more than a War to change someone like Draco Malfoy – more like a ton of Happy Potion, a shitload of Confundus charms and a personality transplant!" Ginny screeched, her voice ringing in the cold air around them.

"That's not true Ginny…the War changed everyone. It changed you, it changed me – Hell, it even changed Ron!" Hermione cried back, finding the strength to look at Ginny through her tear filled eyes.

"Don't you dare bring me or my brother into this Hermione! You're right, the War has changed people – _you_ in particular! My brother may have been a complete arse to you, but don't you dare try and condone your actions Hermione Granger! I know your dirty little secret!"

Hermione was stunned and took a step back from her friend who was now red in the face – but it wasn't because of the fact she had just been practicing Quidditch.

Ginny's hands were balled into fists at her side and Hermione took a moment to calm herself again before she said anything, trying to get her breathing back under control. Could you hyperventilate from crying?

"But he has changed Ginny, he's not the same Draco we went to school with –" she saw Ginny's eyes bulge when Hermione used his first name and if possible, she clenched her jaw even tighter as she opened her mouth to scream something, but Hermione carried on "- yes I'm calling him Draco. Because the day I found out about Ron and Lavender, I was a mess. I was heartbroke, I was torn, I was a mess in every sense of the word. I askd the Room of Requirement to take me somewhere safe, somewhere I'd be happy and somewhere I'd be comfortable. And it led me to Draco, Ginny. Not 'Malfoy', but Draco. My Draco. 'Malfoy' wasn't the one that cradled me in his arms when I was crying. 'Malfoy' wasn't the one to defend me from Ron. And 'Malfoy' isn't the person that has made me feel the safest, the happiest and the best I've felt since before the War. He has changed Ginny, whether you can accept it or not."

Hermione kept eye contact with her friend through out her entire speech, but looked away as she said the last few words.

She knew this was the turning point in their friendship. An ultimatum if you will.

Either accept that I love – yes she loved him – Draco (NOT 'Malfoy) or we're not friends anymore.

That was the big elephant in the room right now, the thing that no one was addressing, but knew that they had to sooner or later. If Ginny chose not to be Hermione's friend over this, then Hermione didn't know what she would do.

She had Luna, Neville, Dean and Harry – but she wasn't as close to any of them as she was to Ginny. She was like the sister that Hermione never had, and if Ginny chose to abandon her – then Hermione's heart would be broken all over again.

Hermione let her eyes drift over the Black Lake and she watched as the last rays of the sun disappeared over the edge of the Lake and the moon began to sparkle and rise in the sky.

She was so lost in the beautiful colours of the sky that it startled her when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder and her eyes fluttered back to the person infront of her.

Ginny was standing infront of Hermione with an odd expression on her face.

Hermione could see that Ginny was conflicted, and she was.

As angry as Ginny was at Hermione for the lying, the sneaking around, everything else…she felt sympathy for her. She knew that what Ron had done to her had cut her up really badly inside and strangely enough – for the first time she was grateful for Draco Malfoy's existence on this planet because he was the one that helped to mend Hermione's broken heart.

Ginny remembered how Hermione had been on the night of the Ball last weekened, and she remembered how she had the sparkle in her eye, the smile on her face, the way her curls bounced happily around her shoulders as she danced with Draco.

As much as Ginny hated to admit it, Malfoy – _Draco_ - was good for her. He brought out the best, and the worst in her and although Ginny wished she had found out sooner in a better way – she couldn't stay angry at Hermione and so she sighed and embraced her in a tight hug.

Hermione was stunned for a second but as Ginny's hair whipped into her face as the cold air swirled around them, Hermione was brought back to reality and found it with in her to hug her back.

They stood for a minute, neither saying anything, before Ginny pulled back and ran a hand through her hair and let out a deep breath.

"I'm not going to lie Hermione – I hate this. I don't condone it at all, and as genius as you are – I think you're off your rocker…but I'll keep my mouth shut. I can see that he makes you happy, and I don't want to lose our friendship…so I won't tell Ron and Harry about this" she admitted with a sigh and she slumped back against the tree behind her.

Hermione was positively elated at Ginny's little confession and even though she was surprised, shocked, distressed and worried all in one – none of that mattered as she threw herself into Ginnys arms and hugged her.

"Thank you Ginny! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm sorry you had to find out this way, I really am. Believe me when I wanted to tell you, I promise I'll never make the same mistake again, I swear" Hermione cried into Ginny's ear as she continued to strangle her best friend in a bone-crushing hug.

Ginny managed to untangle herself from Hermione and chuckled darkly.

"Oh I believe you when you say you won't make the same mistake again. You'd be bloody stupid if you did. That's why I'm leaving it to you to tell Harry and Ron about this" she said as she leaned against the tree and watched the smile fade from Hermione's face as she became panicked.

"W-what?" Hermione asked in a dazed voice, all happiness completely gone.

"I said I'm leaving you to tell Harry and Ron. I won't say a thing" said Ginny as she muttered "Incendio" under her breath and the pictures floating in the air behind Hermione burst into flames and their ashes fluttered away in the cold wind across the Black Lake.

"Ginny…I can't" Hermione said in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper.

"You can and you will. You know that they'll take this a lot worse than I did if they find out the wrong way –" somebody cleared their throat about ten feet away and Ginny turned to see Malfoy approaching them, looking slightly concerned. Ginny narrowed her eyes at him and turned back to her friend "- I don't expect you to tell them in the next few days, but you have to tell them soon. Don't make the same mistake twice Hermione" she said in a solemn voice before turning and walking past Draco back to the castle – not looking back. The mere thought of Hermione and Draco together turned her stomach.

As soon as Ginny was out of ear shot and over the hill, Draco ran to Hermiones side and tilted her chin up so that he could look her in the eyes.

The first thing he noticed was that her eyes were puffy and red and the tracks of her tears. She had been crying – really, really badly.

Instead of wiping them away with his thumb he kissed them away as a few stray tears spilled out of the corner of her eyes and he pulled her close – noting that her usually happy expression had turned into one of shock and confusion.

He hoisted her into his arms and carried her to bench beneath the tree and cradled her against his chest.

"What's wrong love? Please tell me, what's wrong?" he begged her, stroking her hair away from her tear stained face. He hated seeing her like this, and after not seeing her since that morning he wanted her to be happy when he saw her again.

"Ginny knows…about us…" Hermione said in a small, far away voice, looking over the water as snow began to fall from the darkening sky above them.

"I should have known" Draco said in a low, threatening voice. "Why is my day always ruined by a Weasley?" he cried out of frustration.

"She's not going to tell anyone" Hermione told him in the same voice as before.

Draco's head snapped around to meet hers and he froze for a second.

"Well in that case I just gained a whole lot of respect for her then!" he said sounding relieved as he resumed stroking Hermiones hair and placing soft kisses on her head to cheer her up.

"She's not going to tell anyone, but she's leaving me to tell Harry and Ron" she told him, her voice cracking towards the end and she swallowed her shock and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. Is this what shock felt like?

Draco knew how Hermione must be feeling – he was in a similar situation with his family…minus the small-not-so-minute detail that he was failing to mention to her at this point in time…but he would get there eventually. If things were going to get serious – oh what was he thinking! It was already serious! He was in love with the girl for Merlins sake! He had to tell her! He just had to tell her what he was hiding…but not tonight. Tonight was not the time.

So he gently guided her chin towards him and turned her head so that he could look her in the eyes.

"Don't worry Love. It will all be fine, you'll see. Everything will work out. My mother always used to tell me that if something is meant to be then it will happen, well, this has happened, we have happened – so I know that when I say this is meant to be, it's the truth. I've never felt this way about anyone, I'm sure there's never been a couple quite like us before. Listen to me when I say this love, I'm not going anywhere. We can deal with anything, so please cheer up" he told her in a quiet voice, so that only she could hear what he had to say.

The air whipped around them once more and Hermione's curls flew into her face and Draco's hair caressed her face. She leaned into him, her mouth curving into a smile as she realized what he said was true.

She curled up into a ball like she had done this morning and nuzzled his neck affectionately, giggling when she felt him shudder as her warm breath tickled his skin.

The stars were now shining in the sky above them and the question that had been bugging Hermione for the past few weeks came to the front of her mind. She couldn't think of a better way to ask him, than to do it now.

"Draco? What are we?" she asked in a curious voice. She had expected him to stop kissing her head and for his arms to go rigid at her question, but instead he held her tighter and chuckled into her hair.

"Way to steal my thunder love" he joked and she blushed into his chest. He had been planning on asking her?

'Stupid, stupid, stupid Hermione!' she scolded herself as she waited for him to say something.

She looked up at him, and found that his eyes were sparkling with happiness and his white teeth shone in the moonlight that filtered through the trees.

"Well I was wondering Hermione Granger, my little Hermione with-the-honey-brown-eyes-that-I-love-so-much Granger, the sunshine in my day, and the stars that fill the night sky that I think of at night –" he smiled when he saw one of the stars in the sky reflected in her eyes as she gazed up at him "-would you like to be my Girlfriend?"

She smiled a smile that only she could do, one that made his heart melt and feel as though he would collapse if he were not sitting down as she leaned into him and placed a kiss on his lips.

She tried to pour all of her love, all of her happiness and every positive thing she was feeling into the kiss and she smiled when his lips moved under her own and he returned it, as his hands roamed along her thighs and he held her tighter.

It was the most meaningful, passionate, loving kiss that the couple had shared – even more so than their first one.

They both pulled away at the same time, a goofy smile on both of their faces.

"I'd like that" she said simply as she kissed the tip of his nose, all traces of sadness inside her gone.

Her kissed her nose back and both of her eyelids to make sure there were no tears remaining and brought his hand up to her face to cradle her chin as he stroked her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb.

"I've got to say, I highly approve of your choice of outfit for today" he teased her, eyeing the red bra that he could see through her thin white blouse.

She blushed and brought her lips up to his ear, letting her breath tickle his neck before she said "Oh yes, I've had to defend myself from Cormac many times today because you haven't been around to protect me" she teased him as she let her lips find the sensitive spot under his ear and suck on it, flicking her tongue across the surface of his skin.

He tilted his head back to give her better access to his neck, loving the way her lips felt against his skin. He moaned into the cold night air and began caressing her waist and thighs as he smiled.

"Mmmm I'm sorry love, how ever can I make it up to you?" he teased back, frowning when her lips left his skin.

"Oh, I can think of a few things" she playfully repeated his words back to him from that morning and wiped his frown away by kissing him senseless as the moon shone above them, bathing them both in a pearly wintery glow.


	9. Ordinary Day

- Ordinary Day: Chapter 9 -

"Draco, I have to go!" Hermione insisted as she tried to wriggle out of Draco's arms once more.

Of course it didn't work, Draco only held her tighter and pushed her up against the shelves in the store cupboard harder with his muscular body.

"Not until you agree to meet me tonight" he insisted right back, making sure his warm breath caressed the sensitive flesh of Hermione's neck as he leaned his forehead against hers and stared her down. He felt her heart-beat quicken through the thin material of her school blouse and smirked before kissing her again. "Besides, we both have the same class. Is it really so bad if we're a little late?"

Having Draco this close was making it hard for Hermione to think – especially given the way their bodies were tangled together.

Hermione's back was pressed so hard against the dusty wooden shelves that she was sure she'd have an imprint of it on her skin, but she didn't really care. It wasn't uncomfortable, and with the way Draco's hands were caressing her body, she didn't really care.

One leg was hooked around Draco's waist while his other leg was in-between her thighs. He knew just how to make her flustered enough to cave-in, and so he continued running one of his hands down the various curves of her body while the other held the small of her back and he planted heated kisses along her collarbone and neck.

"Y-Yes it is!" she protested as she gasped for air. With being in such a small and confined space, Draco was everywhere - his scent, his warmth, his touch…it was really making Hermione's head swim.

"And why is that?" he asked, trying to feign innocence when the things his hands were doing were anything but.

"Because of Ginny."

Draco immediately stopped what he was doing and groaned irritably into the curve of Hermione's neck, and she knew she'd instantly won.

They had been dating for just under a month, and as amazing as it had been, not everything had gone smoothly.

Ginny was a constant problem. She'd catch Hermione after dinner, stay with her every second she was in the library studying and distract her.

Hermione knew exactly what she was trying to do – she was trying to make her spend as little time with Draco as possible.

By the time Hermione would get back to her and Draco's Common Room at night she'd be exhausted and would just crawl into bed.

However Ginny's plans were foiled. Draco could also see what the Weaslette was trying to do, and so when nobody was looking, he'd unexpectedly grab Hermione by the hand and lead her into an abandoned store cupboard like this one.

It was only this morning he'd thought of using the Room of Requirement as a way of Hermione sneaking off. It was on a completely different floor to their Common Room, so Ginny wouldn't think she was going back to see Draco.

It was perfect!

"Fine" he said as he kissed her neck, jaw and then soft lips one last time, "But meet me tonight, please?" he asked, doing his best puppy dog eyes and even a little pout for effect.

Hermione really wanted to, but if Ginny found out she'd surely go mental.

"No" she said, and unhooked her leg from his waist and pushed on his toned chest.

Draco grinned at her. Even though her hair was sort of bushy from the heat they had created in the small room, her lips slightly swollen and her school clothes a rumpled mess, she was still incredibly beautiful. Especially when she tried to be stubborn like this.

"Not even if I do this?"

He took a step back to her, and bowed his head to suck on the sensitive spot behind her earlobe. He heard her gasp in surprise and even the little moan she tried so hard to suppress.

"No" she repeated, although this time it was a little muffled as she bit down on her lip to stop herself from reacting anymore.

Draco only smirked and moved his hand over the curves of her hip and across her waist.

"Not even if I do this?"

His fingers began to run along the waistline of her school skirt and he felt her back arch into his hand as he teased her.

"N-No" she tried to tell him again, although her body said differently.

"Oh well then, I guess I'm just going to have to persuade you" he said nonchalantly, yet with a hint of excitement in his voice.

Before Hermione could ask what he meant he did something unexpected.

He grabbed her by the waist, twirled her around and sat on one of the wooden boxes in the corner with her on top of him.

Even in the darkness, Draco could see that Hermione was surprised and he smirked as he cradled her waist in his hands.

He reached up to capture her lips in his and she met him gladly, twining her fingers into his silky hair.

Hermione didn't realize that she was making it hard for Draco to think too with her weight on top of him like this as he breathed in the flowery scent of her curly locks. He gently traced the waistline of her skirt again with one hand while the other played with the bottom of her blouse.

Even though he wasn't doing anything, the feeling of his fingers trailing along the surface of her skin was amazing and without even meaning to, a soft moan escaped her lips.

As Draco and Hermione's tongues caressed one another in a heated passion, Hermione didn't even realize her hips had began rocking backwards and forwards. Nor did Draco realize that he fell into time with her rhythm or that his hand had disappeared under her blouse.

Their moment of heated desire was short lived however, as the door was violently wrenched open and light flooded into the small and confined space.

Hermione had an odd sense of déjà-vu as she gave a startled squeak and rolled off of Draco onto the hard stone floor. Draco scrambled to help her up as he squinted his eyes against the light coming from the doorway and tried to make out the silhouetted figure.

"You know the saying: "get a room"? I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean abandoned store cupboards on the second floor" a condescending voice registered in Hermione's ears and she stopped rubbing her sore backside and sprang apart from Draco as though he were a live wire.

"G-G-Ginny? H-Ho-H-"

"How did I find you? It's funny the things you read" she said knowingly and Hermione caught a glimpse of a folded piece of old parchment in Ginny's folded arms.

Although it was completely blank, Hermione knew exactly what it was.

How had she gotten the Marauders Map?

Draco looked between Hermione's boggling eyes and the piece of tatty old parchment several times before shaking his head and plastering his very best scowl on his face.

He turned to face Ginny who was dressed just as Hermione was, in a school skirt, a white blouse and her Gryffindor dress robes. Her red hair was even loose and hanging around her shoulders like Hermione's. The only thing that was different was her angry clenched jaw and piercing eyes.

"Like you said Weaslette – it's an _abandoned_ store cupboard. So why are you here?" he asked curtly, trying to retain _some_ kind of civility for the irritating little witch who was, unfortunately, his girlfriends best friend.

Ginny's penetrating gaze moved from Hermione to Draco as she looked him over. He looked the same way as Hermione – messy hair, un-tucked shirt, a sort of 'rabbit caught in the headlights' look on his face even though he tried to cover it up.

"I only came to tell my _best friend _that our Care of Magical Creatures class has been moved to the third floor Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom," she said bitterly.

"Why?" Hermione asked, forgetting how embarrassed she was at being found and suddenly confused.

Ginny turned her head to look at her best friend, a sad look in her eyes.

"I don't know, but then again I don't know a lot of things lately" she said somberly as she pursed her lips and turned on her heel to leave. "Oh and by the way Malfoy? I'd maybe have a cold shower before turning up to class if I were you" she called over her shoulder with a triumphant smirk as she turned around the corner before Draco could say anything back to her.

The look in Ginny's eyes tore Hermione up inside, she hated sneaking around and being caught in the worst way possible. Seeing Ginny like that brought Hermione back to that day by the lake when Ginny found out about her relationship with Draco, and she promised herself that she would never see that look on Ginny's face again.

She had to make things right with Ginny again.

"I'm sorry, I've got to go after her" Hermione told Draco as she reached up to kiss him quickly while fingering her hair and fixing her clothes.

Draco looked down at her, his flaxen hair hanging in his eyes and his breathing still ragged from before. He didn't like losing Hermione to the Weaslette, but he knew that even though Hermione hadn't agreed to it yet, that he'd be seeing her later that night.

So with a small smile he too fixed his clothes and bent down to press his lips to hers once more, tucking a curl that she had missed behind her ear and caressing her cheek once he was done.

"It's ok love" he reassured her as Hermione's eyes fluttered back open and she smiled up at him.

"Thank you" she whispered before slipping out of the door and running after Ginny down the corridor towards the busy Grand Staircase.

As she followed Ginny she wasn't sure why her class was being moved to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. She also wasn't entirely sure if she was meeting Draco that night in the Room of Requirement.

But what she did know was that she'd have to make things right with Ginny, something that seemed to be quite difficult as Ginny continued to stomp towards the class – her back turned, and never once looking at Hermione.

Hermione was confused when she entered the classroom on the third floor, although her head was still spinning from her little escapade with Draco.

Why was her Care of Magical Creatures Class being held in the Defense Against the Dark Arts room?

"Why do you think we're in here?" Hermione asked, trying to break the awkward silence between her and Ginny as she sunk into the chair beside her at their usual desk. But Ginny did not reply.

Hermione had been trying to talk to Ginny on their walk to the class, but not once did Ginny break her silence.

'This is ridiculous' thought Hermione. 'Surely she's not still ticked at me because of –'

Hermione's pessimistic thoughts were cut off as she followed Ginny's widened eyes to the front of the classroom and saw what everybody else was staring at.

McGonagall was standing at the front of the classroom. This was odd, incredibly odd. The Headmistress never went into any other lessons apart from her own – which she still insisted upon teaching – so the fact that she was standing in front of a small wooden podium with pursed lips and peering at the students filing into the room over the top of her glasses was not a good sign.

What was also puzzling was the large unmistakable figure standing by a closed trunk behind the Headmistress.

Hagrid towered over McGonagall, worry set into every line of his aging forehead and his eyes darting nervously towards the trunk every now and again.

Out of the corner of her eye Hermione caught Draco enter the classroom, give a confused look towards the two teachers and then sink into the wooden chair beside Blaise on the other side of the room.

She didn't turn her head though, or take her eyes off of the Headmistress. As McGonagall gave a flick of her wand and the wooden shutters over the windows closed promptly with a bang, an ominous silence swept over the curious students.

"A'right folks, w-well t'day is 'goin tae be a bit of a…errr…different lesson-" Hagrid explained, his eyes still shifting towards the trunk every now and again. Why was Hagrid so anxious? "-So I'll let Professor McGonagall do the talkin'."

"As I'm sure you've realized, this will not be your ordinary Defense Against the Arts class" the Headmistress began as her eyes swept over the students, making sure she had every single bit of attention before continuing.

"Given the nature of this lesson's agenda, I thought it best to have Professor Hagrid's lesson held in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. As did the Ministry think it prudent to bring in the esteemed Auror, Lenore Attbury-" a series of murmurs broke out amongst the students and McGonagall frowned,"-Silence!"

The murmurs ceased almost instantly, and Hermione glanced uneasily to Draco out of the corner of her eye. He had already been looking at her, and so he returned the look with an anxious one of his own.

They had a renowned Auror specializing in extreme Dark Magic and the Care of Magical Creatures Professor in their class? This wasn't exactly the best way to make everyone feel calm.

"I'm sure you're all well aware of Miss Attbury's talents in her profession, and that is why I want to stress to all of you-" her eyes lingered over the Slytherins, "- to give her your full attention and cooperation. If Miss Attbury tells you to do something, I want you to do it. Anybody failing to do so will be brought immediately to my office and will answer directly to me. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Everybody nodded in unison, not even daring to disobey the Headmistress.

"Very well, without further a-do, I'll hand it over to you Miss Attbury" McGonagall announced with a tight nod of her head and a gesture of her hand towards the back of the classroom.

Every one turned at the same time to see a dark-haired woman leaning against the stonewall by the door to the classroom.

The students gasped at the sight of her, had she been standing there the whole time? No wonder she was so good at being an Auror with sneaking skills like that. But this isn't what made them gasp.

She really was bewitchingly beautiful to look at.

Her thick dark hair hung in straight, heavy layers down her back. Her icy-pale skin appeared to glow in the candlelight from the chandelier in the centre of the room and authority oozed from every pore of her perfectly smooth skin.

There was no mistaking that she was an esteemed Auror, given her confident smile, her straight back or her toned legs and thighs. This was a woman who was used to running around and doing her job well.

But there was also no mistaking the fact that this woman was a Vampire. So the rumours were true then. People had said Lenore's eyes were hypnotic, but it was not until you were looking into her piercing liquid silver gaze did Hermione believe it.

With a flick of her wand the classroom door slammed shut and the chandelier's light was extinguished, only to be replaced by smaller, dimly lit candles placed around the room.

"Thank you Professor McGonagall" Lenore remarked as she walked gracefully to the front of the room, her long black robes billowing out behind her as she sauntered through the aisles to stand beside Hagrid.

"Hello to you all students" she greeted with a nod of her head as her eyes took in all of the anxious faces – including Draco's. "As Professor McGonagall has stated, the Ministry thought it best I conduct this lesson today with the help of Professor Hagrid."

Hagrid nodded back to her and moved reluctantly to stand closer to the chest.

What was going on?

Lenore's expression changed from one of business-like to being alert, and Hermione could not help but feel uneasy under the intensity of her gaze.

"Since the War the Ministry have been dealing with a problem, more so than they have in the past. Who here has heard of a 'Stremox' before?"

As shocked as Hermione was, her hand shot up in the air.

"Miss Attbury? A Stremox is a Magical Creature – one of the darkest to walk the face of the Earth. The 'x' in it's name is from the founder of the Creature who stated that it imitated the sound he feared most, the sound of a hissing Snake" Hermione explained in a shaky voice that was barely above a whisper. Even speaking about this creature scared her, why on Earth were they learning about this?

She looked around the room to see her classmate's reactions. Many of the Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, including Ginny, seemed to be genuinely interested – although a little unnerved. However a lot of the Slytherins, like Pansy seemed to be keeping up their confident cocky personas, giving Hermione wicked sneers and acting as though they weren't scared at all.

One person that stood out from the sea of faces though was the one that gave her a reassuring smile, however small it may have been. The sparkle in his eyes seemed to light up every corner of the dim room for Hermione, and it was looking at him that gave her the confidence to carry on speaking about this horrible creature.

"It travels as black smoke and mist and when it presents itself to a person, it takes the form of the thing that scares them the most. It is part of the Boggart family, except it can speak. And it is highly intuitive. It hones in on things that have been said to you that have terrified you and repeats them, in the hope of paralyzing you with fear. It's bite is venomous and if left untreated for an unspecified amount of time, it can be lethal."

Everyone in the room appeared to gulp in sync. This was some freaky stuff.

"Your reputation proceeds you Miss Granger" Lenore praised with an impressed smile on her face. "Everything you said is true, except for the 'unspecified amount of time' you spoke of – it has recently been discovered" she announced, her expression turning stern again. "Like the Boggart, the Stremox takes the form of the figure that you are scared of the most. It's venom is lethal depending on how long you have been scared of this particular figure – so for example, seeing as most of you are eighteen, if one of you have been scared of clowns since you were two years old, then you have anywhere from sixteen minutes, to sixteen days to receive treatment from the bite."

Lenore paused here to give the students time to process this or ask questions. But nobody did. Not even Hermione.

For Hermione this was fascinating, yet terrifying at the same time.

"Seeing as the Ministry was infiltrated during the War, the laws and jurisdiction controlling these creatures was abolished – meaning that Aurors such as myself are having a difficult time controlling and stopping them. With the dramatic increase in the number of attacks, the Ministry thought it best for you to be properly educated in these beasts and know how to defend yourselves" she explained, taking a defensive position with her wand raised before the students.

Everyone shifted nervously in their seats, as did Hermione. They saw Hagrid shift closer to the closed box and suddenly it all clicked into place.

'Surely not, she can't be keeping a Stremox inside that box?' Hermione tried to convince herself, despite the fact that Lenore and Hagrid's behavior said otherwise.

"Now, in that trunk-" she gestured towards the closed trunk in front of a shaking Hagrid, "- is a Stremox."

'This woman is off her rocker!' Draco said to himself incredulously. All this time he had been keeping one eye on Hermione and making sure she was ok. He had been trying to do this as discretely as possible incase Blaise caught him looking over at her. But when he saw her eyes widen and her hand flinch towards her wand slightly, he almost rose from his seat to comfort her. He could tell she was scared, and never before had he wanted to protect her as much as now.

"Before I give Hagrid the signal to release it, I want to make sure you all know the defensive spell. As it is a member of the Boggart family, it does have one – but it is more complex than the 'Riddiculus' charm. Wands at the ready!"

There was a flurry of clocks as students scrambled to respond to the Auror's demand at once and, within seconds, a sea of wands were raised and extended in front of their owners.

Hermione had been the first to grab her wand. Everyone thought Hermione was the most confident with this task, it was Hermione Granger after all! A member of the Golden Trio! The smartest witch of her age! But they could not be more wrong.

Hermione knew what her Stremox would be, and what it would say, and the thought alone was enough to make her face pale and her blood run cold.

"OK, as I mentioned the spell is more complicated than 'Ridiculus' in the sense that it is like a Patronus charm. You must think of a person that has made you feel truly safe; it is the only way to protect yourself. Once you have a clear image of the person in your mind, concentrate on it completely and say 'Securus Levis'. Repeat after me – Securus Levis."

Everyone repeated the spell.

"More confidently! Allow the image of the person to fill you up! Remember how you felt being with them! Concentrate on them completely! Do not let the fear consume your minds!" she ordered, and everyone responded instantly by yelling Securus Levis louder and more confidently.

"Better. Now, once you cast the spell, a light will appear and like a Patronus charm, it will take the form of the person you feel most protected by or the most safe with. When the Stremox is released there is no predicting where it will go – it may go to you-" she pointed to a rather twitchy Seamus Finnegan,"- or it may very well go to you –" she pointed to a pale-faced Pansy Parkinson, who scowled back at her.

'Wouldn't that be nice? It would certainly solve a lot of my problems' Draco thought to himself.

"-Wands at the ready, and remember: Securus Levis" she made sure she received a confirming nod from everyone before turning to Hagrid, giving him a tight nod and re-taking her defensive stance before he un-did the latch on the trunk and released the Darkness with in.

The lights immediately extinguished and an icy chill filled the room. It wasn't the same kind of cold that accompanied a Dementor, rather it was the kind of cold that came to you when you felt truly helpless and alone.

"LUMOS!" Lenore screamed from the darkness and everyone followed her example and lit their wands in time to see the creature emerge from the trunk.

A trickle of black smoke escaped the corner of the wooden box, as if to test it's surroundings before emerging completely. It sensed the fear in the room and before Hermione had time to register what was happening completely, it was travelling above their heads as a cloud of mist and darkness – a pair of glowing red eyes leering at them from within the ominous cloud.

Whispers filled the air around them, but it was not from any of the students. It was from the Stremox, as it used its Psychic abilities to hone in on the students fears around the room – relishing in the things that had been said to them to make them quake in fear.

The cloud was above Lavender's head when it stopped travelling and disappeared from view. A pair of glinting red eyes materialized infront of her desk at the front of the classroom and out of the darkness, came Fenrir Greyback.

If Hermione had not known it was a Stremox she would have believed it was actually him. The way he walked, the way he was dressed – it felt completely and entirely real.

Apparently it felt too real as Lavender whimpered and cowered in her seat, remembering the man that had attacked her during the Battle of Hogwarts only last year. The scars across her chest appeared to tingle as the Stremox opened it's mouth and began to snarl at her.

'Of course that would be what frightened Lavender the most' Hermione thought to herself. She remembered the way Fenrir had been snarling as he attacked Lavender last year.

"I'm going to get you" he taunted, growing closer to Lavender with every intimidating step. "I'm going to get you" he taunted again in a sing-song type of voice, sneering at her in the eerie light from her wand-tip.

"S-Securus L-L-Levis'" she muttered through frozen lips, completely paralyzed by fear. But nothing happened. "S-Securus Levis'" she repeated again, this time a bit louder – determined to make the creature of her nightmares go away. "_Securus Levis_!" she screeched. Again to no avail.

"Securus Levis'!" Lenore screamed, stepping forward from the darkness. A burst of white light erupted from her wand and an elderly, glowing, ghost-like woman appeared from her wand (Hermione reasoned it must be Lenore's mother) and charged towards the Stremox.

Fenrir Greyback was reduced into smoke again and the red eyes bulged from the mist as it screamed and began to swirl throughout the air again.

As it swirled above the students head again, it took the form of two more fears: Seamus Finnegans and Blaise Zabini's. Both fears were focused around the Battle from last year.

Seamus's was the terrifyingly huge spider that he battled last year, and he was just able to produce a Levis charm in the form of a blurry Harry Potter.

Hermione knew that Harry would be touched by that if he had had the chance to see it, as was Ginny as she appeared to gush with pride at knowing her boyfriend had the power to make people feel safe.

Blaize's was Voldemort – something that caused more than a few screams to travel around the room – and like Seamus's his Levis was also Harry.

As the Stremox approached Blaize, Draco couldn't remember a time when he'd been more scared.

Not when he was being tortured by Voldemort.

Not when he watched people be murdered before his eyes.

Not even when he was in the Room of Requirement last year surrounded by Fiendfyre!

But his fears for himself vanished as the Stremox's eyes darted to the left and honed in on the one person Draco wished it wouldn't..

Hermione.

Before Draco could cast the Levis charm to protect her, it had already travelled to her table and to Draco's horror, a horribly familiar sound reverberated off of the walls in the classroom.

Bellatrix Lestrange's cackling laughter.

It filled the darkness that engulfed the students, causing the hairs on the back of Hermione's neck to stand on end. She had been hearing that sound almost every time she fell asleep since being tortured in Malfoy Manor.

"One, two, Bella's coming for you…You can't escape me _Mudblood_" came a taunting sing-song voice from the shadows to Hermione's right.

Ginny couldn't suppress her startled cry as Bellatrix took a teasing step out of the gloom and stood there, taking delight in the cowering Hermione and her 'blood traitor' friend.

'Wait – stop Hermione! This is **not** Bellatrix!' the rational part of Hermione's brain tried to convince her, but she couldn't begin to believe it! Not when she looked the same as she did in Hermione's nightmares and so…**real**.

Her black hair hung in messy, greasy curls around her shoulders.

The lines on her face were only enhanced by the crazed expression she wore and the way she appeared to snarl at her prey as she stalked forward.

Her teeth were rotten and Hermione gagged at the stench of her breath as she took another step closer.

Then she did the worst thing possible – Bellatrix began to sing the chilling nursery rhyme that had scared Hermione since her cousin had lured her into the woods as a small child and sang it from the darkness.

"If you go into the woods tonight, you're sure for a big surprise…." Bellatrix sang in a voice that mimicked that of a little girl, making her not only seem more demented but also ten times more dangerous.

"If you go into the woods tonight, you're sure for a big surprise" she repeated, cackling once she was done.

Fear settled into every fiber of Hermione's being, and even Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand with a vice-like grip.

This was the woman who had tried to kill Ginny, this was the woman her mother had killed! Seeing her again was too real. It was as if she were back. This couldn't be happening.

"For every fear, that ever there was, today's the day it happens because, today's the day that Bellatrix kills Hermione!"

The hairs on Hermione's arms rose at the way Bellatrix twisted the words of the original nursery rhyme to scare her even more.

Tears began to form in Hermione's eyes, Bellatrix was only a few feet away now and the closer she got, the more real she seemed.

But she wasn't real.

'COME ON HERMIONE!' the panicked voice inside her head begged. 'SAY THE SPELL!'

As much as Hermione wanted to, she couldn't do it. She simply couldn't.

'DO IT HERMIONE!' it pleaded once more. 'If not for yourself then for Draco!'

That's when reality came back to Hermione.

Draco was real, this version of Bellatrix wasn't. Her love for Draco was real, and although her fear of Bellatrix was completely rational, it was unnecessary in this situation and therefore unreal. The feelings she felt for Draco were real, but the things this creature made her feel was twisted and warped and completely not real.

Hermione was better than this.

She was better than a cowering, sniveling, weak individual like Lavender Brown. And if there's one thing Hermione did not want to be compared to, it was Lavender Brown.

It wasn't thinking of Harry defeating Voldemort that gave her the strength to raise her wand at the beast approaching her. It wasn't even thinking of Ron saving her from Nagini that she thought of to conjure her Levis charm.

It was thinking of Draco. Just Draco.

Just being in his arms and knowing that as long as she was there that nothing could harm her, because he wouldn't let it.

Thinking of this, imagining his warmth was what she thought of as she brought her wand up to the creatures face and gave her the encouragement she needed to yell the words to protect her.

Hermione's memory was so strong, that the effect was instant.

The Stremox's eyes bulged out of their sockets and the twisted version of Bellatrix released one more shrill scream into the darkness before staggering backwards into the Patil twins in front of Hermione as an Angelic, pearly white glowing version of Draco stepped out of Hermione's wand and ran at the spectral version of his demented Aunt.

The closer the Levis version of Draco got to the Stremox version of Bellatrix, the more she faded back into mist and smoke.

But it wasn't until 'Draco' said "I'm not going anywhere" that the Stremox was truly vanquished.

Hearing those words again brought Hermione back to that day just under a month ago by the Black Lake – when Draco and Hermione had started dating. Hearing those words again only reinforced how much she loved him, and how safe she felt with him, and this only added to the intense power behind her Levis.

As Hermione watched the red eyes widen and squint against the blinding light from Hermione's protective charm, and cower away into the darkness, a happy tear spilled down her cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere" the Levis version of Draco repeated, as it barreled into the Stremox with as much anger as a raging bull. This was all that was needed to cause the Stremox to scream one last time and launch itself into the air to retreat back into the trunk beside Hagrid.

Hagrid, who had been terrified of seeing Buckbeaks executioner again, shook off his fears and hurled himself forward to close the latch on the trunk. He breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back against the wall, thankful that this was over – but was it really?

He lifted his head to look over at Hermione, confusion evident on his face.

McGonagall muttered a spell from her frozen position by the desk and with a flick of her wand at a candle nearby, all of the lights in the room were lit.

As Hermione looked around the room, she found that every face was turned towards her with the same expression as Hagrids – except for Pansy, who looked simply furious, yet appalled at the same time.

A tense silence fell over everyone, making Hermione feel incredibly uncomfortable. Seamus was openly gaping at her, Theodore Knott looked as though somebody had Confunded him and Ginny looked as ticked off as ever!

"Class is dismissed" Lenore said in a dazed voice as she waved her wand at the trunk, shrunk it to the size of a coin and summoned it into her pocket. Determined to escape the tension that filled the room, she fled the room shortly afterwards.

Nobody looked away from Hermione though. Not even as they rose from their seats and left the room.

They were all thinking the same thing: "Why was Hermione Granger's Levis charm Draco Malfoy – her sworn enemy?"

Hermione realized what she'd just done and mentally slapped herself as she groaned and placed her head in her hands.

She might as well have just announced her relationship with Draco from the rooftops! Everyone now knew that Draco and Hermione were friends – or maybe some of them had made the connection that they were more than friends.

Hermione felt a rustling to her left and she looked over in time to see Ginny give her a disapproving scowl and glare at her before grabbing her books and leave the room.

Hermione stared after her best friend, confused as to what was making her act like that when a piece of folded parchment fluttered over to her and landed on her desk.

She unfolded it with careful fingers and read the neat cursive writing.

"_I'm so proud of you – Please meet me tonight?"_

Hermione looked around the room, knowing who had sent it, and found him lingering by the open door in the crowd of students leaving the room.

She nodded to him and released a sigh.

'Everyone knows now, might as well' she reasoned to herself.

Draco smiled back at her, more proud of her than ever and blew her a much-needed kiss before turning on his heel and following the sea of frightened students out the door.

As she watched Draco leave, his blonde hair shining in the rays of sun as he walked down the corridor, Hermione realized McGonagall had been right.

Not only was this no ordinary Care of Magical Creatures Lesson, but as Hermione re-packed her book bag and pocketed her wand, she had the feeling that this was also not going to be an Ordinary Day.

As usual, Hermione was right.

The oil lanterns along the stone walls flickered in the icy breeze that swirled through the Hogwarts Corridors, causing odd patterns to dance along the floors and walls.

Even though the flames offered some warmth, they did nothing to calm Hermione's nerves as she crept through the hallways, keeping to the shadows at all times.

She knew that it was ridiculous to be hiding behind statues and skulking in the dark in a deserted hallway, but she couldn't take the risk of anybody seeing her sneaking off. She was already in a lot of trouble as it was from the lesson earlier that day. The last thing she needed was people trying to guess at why she was tip-toeing her way to the Room of Requirement.

Hermione found herself looking over her shoulder, inspecting shadows in corners and jumping at the slightest sound.

After seeing her Stremox, hearing what it said and getting the scare of her life, Hermione was beyond paranoid and scared. The hairs on her arms would rise at the slightest noise and Merlin forbid one of the ghosts appeared from nowhere, she would actually jump and back up against the wall.

'Calm down Hermione, you're being stupid. Just get to the Room of Requirement and you'll be fine' she told herself as caught her breath, squared her shoulders and stepped out from the shadows behind one of the many stone statues.

As she made to take a step forward, an odd clicking sound registered in her ears.

Hermione wasted no time in jumping right back and crouching as far down as she could go, seeking the cover of darkness provided by the large marble statue. Her breathing was coming in panicked pants and nervous beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.

It really was amazing how one lesson could make a person so terrified of every little thing. She knew it wasn't a Stremox - how could it be? Surely they weren't allowed inside the castle. Still, it took her a good few minutes of calming breaths to give her the courage to poke her head around the side of the statue and find the source of the noise.

She reasoned that it must be the bare branches of the trees tapping against the window panes, or the crackling of the flames in the oil lanterns.

But as she peered around the side of the statue, her breath caught in her throat and for the second time that day she was paralyzed by fear.

Somebody was watching her.

In the shadows of one of the suits of armor, Hermione could distinctly see a tall figure - completely shrouded in darkness, save for their silhouette which was illuminated partly by the oil lanterns along the wall.

The wind surged through a cracked window pane and whipped past Hermione's hair, also causing the candle light to flicker once more. As it did so, it glinted off of the figure in the darkness. Hermione could recognize that glint anywhere - the person in the darkness was wearing glasses.

A series of flashes and more clicking lit up the darkness surrounding the figure, and in those brief moments of light, Hermione was able to make out small features about the person.

They were wearing an unusual shade of green - close to Emerald, but with shades of Olive through it.

They had red lips which were pulled into a malicious smirk. Were they smirking at how visibly scared she was?

The glasses the person wore were small, and perched on the end of their nose.

Was that a camera they were holding? It must be, given the amount of clicking and flashing they were doing.

As petrified as Hermione was, she couldn't help but squint her eyes and lean forward slightly to try and get a better look at the person.

In one of the flashes that lit up the darkness, Hermione saw one distinguishing feature and a light-bulb moment went off in her head.

Could it really be...?

"If you're looking for your common-sense, I don't think you'll find it down there. By the looks of it you flushed it down the toilet ages ago."

"GAH!" Hermione gasped and in her surprise, leaped back and hit her head hard against the corner of the marble statue.

Little lights began to appear before her eyes and Hermione gripped her head hard as she struggled to stand up. Holy Hippogriffs, her head really hurt.

She blinked to try and clear the pain and when the lights disappeared and her vision focused, she frowned at the person standing before her with their arms crossed and their eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"What are you on about now Ginny?" Hermione asked, quite annoyed. She reached back to rub the sore part of her head.

Ginny seemed a bit surprised by Hermione's vexed disposition but didn't back down. Instead she gritted her jaw, took a strong stance and was completely honest and up-front with her best friend.

"Well I thought you'd gone loopy when you started dating Malfoy – perhaps maybe he'd brainwashed you or _something_. But _now _I think you've just gone completely insane! I know that you've been sneaking off to see him, I know that you're going off to see him now. And now I know that you've completely turned your back on your friends. I can't believe you'd make that Ferret-faced arsehole your Levis charm Hermione! Why not Harry? Has he not been a good enough friend to you? Or have you just been warped so much by that little Death Eater of yours?" Ginny spat back at her.

"Look Ginny-" Hermione replied through gritted teeth,"-I'm sorry ok? I'm sorry I've had to sneak off to see Draco. I'm sorry you're jealous that I want to spend time with him too. I'm sorry you think I've turned my back on you, Harry, and everybody else. I'm sorry I'm not the perfect friend ok? But neither are you-" Ginny opened her mouth to retaliate, but Hermione quickly silenced her by carrying on.

"-No Gin, I'm sorry but you're not. If you really were my friend, you wouldn't feel the need to _spy _on me with the map!" Hermione eyed the map clasped in Ginny's hand with the most disdainful look she could muster. "If you really were my friend, you'd trust me and accept my relationship with Draco, and try not to keep me and him apart because of your petty jealousy. If you really were my friend, you'd know that I could never turn my back on Harry or anybody else! I love Harry like a brother! But the safety I feel with him is different compared to the one I feel with Draco. I can't describe it, but I _know _that Draco would never, ever let anything harm me" Hermione finished in a rush and she felt tears sting in her eyes and threaten to fall, so she looked to the ground to stop Ginny from seeing them.

Why was Ginny being like this?

Ginny had tears prickling in the corners of her eyes too. She hated fighting like this with Hermione, and as hard as it was for her to admit – she hadn't been the best friend this past month.

Once again, Hermione experienced déjà-vu as she was brought back to that day by the lake.

She felt a pair of arms around her shoulders and welcomed them gladly. Even though Ginny had practically been joined to her hip this past month, they hadn't been like this. Like friends. Ginny had been over-protective and it felt as though spending time with Hermione had been a bit of a chore, simply because she was working hard to make sure Draco was nowhere around – and not spending time with _her_.

The pair just stood there, Ginny holding her best friend and Hermione holding Ginny back. Hermione had missed her. She didn't like sneaking around to see Draco behind Ginny's back, but with Ginny's behaviour lately, what else was she supposed to do?

"I'm sorry 'Mione" Ginny mumbled into Hermione's shoulder. "I guess I understand the thing about the Levis charm – That's sort of the reason why _my _Levis charm would have been Harry, and not you or Ron or anybody else. It's a different kind of safety, I guess I just didn't want to admit that your feelings were that strong for him…" she admitted with a sniffle as she lifted her head from Hermione's shoulder and wiped at her puffy eyes.

Hermione did the same and muttered "Scourgify" at the damp spot on Ginny's school robes to wipe away her smudged Mascara.

"And I suppose – I mean, I _know _– that what I've been doing is wrong…I shouldn't be trying to keep you and Draco apart. I just –" she seemed to struggle with her words and she wiped angrily at her eyes,"-I guess that it's taken me longer to come around to this relationship than I originally thought. You're right, I _have _been jealous. Jealous that you want to spend more time with somebody like him –" she noted the way Hermione frowned and hurried on, "-I know you say he's changed, but you've got to give me time to come to terms with that and see it for myself. But I'll _try _not to stop you guys anymore" she told Hermione with a pleading look. This really was difficult for her.

"And…I'm sorry I spied on you. It's not that I don't trust you, I do – it's him I don't trust. And I'm sorry, but you're going to have to give me more time to deal with this Hermione. He's been my enemy for years, I can't just change my opinion of him overnight…even though it's already been a month – but _still_."

"Thanks" Hermione said in a small voice. The corners of her mouth turned up into a small smile as she looked at her friend. She knew that this was tough for Ginny to deal with, but she was glad that she was starting to cope with it a bit better by talking about it.

But her forehead furrowed into a frown as she noticed something else.

"Gin, how did you get the map from Harry?" she asked, her eyes widening by the second. "You didn't – I mean he doesn't –"

"Don't worry 'Mione" Ginny reassured her friend as a laugh escaped her lips. "He doesn't know. I just told him I wanted to find the different passageways around the castle to get to a few places. I didn't like lying to him, but I promised you I wouldn't tell Harry or Ron and Ihad to keep an eye on you."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back against the cool stone of the statue.

"Thanks, I-I don't know what I'd have done if he found out that way…" Hermione said, thinking to herself about how horrible it would have been for Harry to learn about her and Draco that way and causing her to frown again.

"I always keep my promises" Ginny reminded her friend with a knowing look in her eyes. "But remember, you have a promise to keep too. You have to tell Harry and Ron remember?"

This time it was Hermione's turn to groan and she beat her head off of the stone behind her a little at the reminder of her promise.

She never seemed to be able to catch a break!

"I know Gin, but I want to wait a little while longer…It's going to be difficult to say the least, and I want to make sure we're ok before that time comes" she knew it was a bit of a crappy excuse, but it was partly true. She did want to make sure her friendship with Ginny was solid before it faced the ultimate test. Also it was because she was scared to death and wanted to put it off a bit longer.

Ginny's arms were around Hermione once more, as she saw her bottom lip tremble a little bit.

"Hey, we're always ok. Always, alright?" she told her friend as she rubbed soothing circles into her shoulders and let out a defeated sigh. It hadn't been the answer she was hoping for, but she reasoned that it was better than nothing. Besides, Hermione being the ever-logical person she was, made sense. It was best to get their friendship back on track before they faced any more obstacles.

"Oh and don't worry about everyone seeing 'Malfoy' as your Levis Charm. I did a bit of damage control and managed to convince a few people that it wasn't him. I told them all it was your cousin or something, they seemed to buy it" she told Hermione with a smug smile. She really didn't get enough credit for being such a mastermind and getting out of sticky situations.

"Thanks Gin, I don't know how I can ever make it up to you" Hermione breathed into her friends shoulder. She closed her eyes tight, embracing this moment with the friend she had missed. This was the Ginny Hermione liked, not the possessive irrational one she had been for so long. How could Hermione help to make things right?

'Think Hermione, think!" the voice in the back of her head beseeched her.

It was as Hermione was pondering this that an idea occurred to her and her eyes shot open as she pulled away with an excited smile on her tear-stained face.

"It's the Quidditch Game tomorrow isn't it? Gryffindor is playing!"

Ginny looked somewhat confusedly at her best friend. Hermione never got excited about Quidditch, had she been hit in the head or something?

"Yes…why?" Ginny said cautiously in response to Hermione's beaming face and wide, excited eyes.

Hermione threw her head back and laughed, somewhat triumphantly. This was the perfect way to start making things right with Ginny!

"Because I'm coming to watch you of course! Don't you worry, I'll be in the front row cheering you on!" she declared in a proud voice. She knew how much this would mean to Ginny. It was an important game afterall, apparently this partly determined who was in the running to compete for the Quidditch Cup in a few months time.

Ginny's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and she openly gaped at her friend.

"Are you serious?" she asked in a far-away voice. Did Hermione really not know what the details of the game were?

"Well yes, why? Is there something I'm missing?" Hermione asked, confused as to why her friend was reacting this way. She had been expecting her to be a bit happier? A bit more excited perhaps?

Ginny couldn't help but smirk a little bit. She knew that she said she'd try not to stop Hermione and Draco from seeing each other, and technically she was remaining true to what she had said.

Hermione was walking into this one all on her own.

"That would be great! Ye, come and sit right in the front row! That would be amazing! I'd love it! Oh and be sure to wear the Gryffindor colors ye?" Ginny gushed, suddenly visibly buzzing with excitement.

As happy as Hermione was that she and Ginny seemed to be starting over and putting the past behind her, she couldn't help but be a little suspicious at her sudden shift in mood.

Nor could she help but be wary about the way Ginny was smirking or the way her eyes were sparkling…it was as though she knew something Hermione didn't and that she had some hidden agenda.

Shaking such silly thoughts from her mind, Hermione grinned back at her friend and hugged her once more.

"Ok then, I'll see you tomorrow! But I have to g-"

"Granger!" a voice called from behind Ginny. Both friends turned to see who it was, and neither could suppress the feral snarl that escaped their lips or the glares they shot to Lavender Brown as she walked somewhat frantically over to them.

Like Ginny and Hermione, her usually rosy cheeks were incredibly flushed – but not from crying. It looked as though she'd been running. Her long dirty-blonde curls were pulled back into a messy pony tail and she looked a bit apprehensive as her eyes shifted around the partly deserted hallway.

"What the Hell do you want Lavender?" Hermione asked in an accusatory voice. There was no way that she was simply here to talk about the weather or any other nice topic of conversation. Lavender was a nasty piece of work.

"Don't you think dogs should be kept on a leash Hermione?" Ginny asked innocently, not bothering to acknowledge Lavender in any other way apart from her derogatory comment.

Lavender shrugged off Ginny's comment and turned to face Hermione, panting for breath. She had ran here straight from the Gryffindor Tower. She didn't particularly like Hermione, mostly because of what she'd done to Ron and her at the Halloween Ball.

But since their lesson today, and Lavender had seen Fenrir, she had been thinking a lot. Truth be told, her Levis Charm would have been Hermione, simply because she had saved Lavender from Fenrir in the War last year. If it had not been for her, then Lavender would surely be dead.

She knew that she was in a difficult position. She was helping Pansy make Hermione's life Hell, and although she did not know why, she knew that deep down, she didn't deserve it. Maybe she was doing this out of guilt? Or maybe it was because she had had enough of Parkinson's bitchy attitude to last her a lifetime. Whatever the reason, she just had to warn Hermione.

"I just thought I'd let you know Gr-_Hermione_, that you should watch yourself" Lavender said in a low voice, her eyes darting once more to the shadows around the hallway.

"Is that a threat?" Hermione asked incredulously. Lavender really had some guts if she was willing to take Hermione on again.

Lavender's eyes widened and she shook her head furiously.

"No, no, no you don't understand. I'm telling you to watch yourself because there are people watching you" she explained slowly, as if talking to a child, all the while never breaking eye contact.

Hermione gasped and spun around, suddenly remembering the figure in the darkness from only minutes before.

But there was no one around – except that blasted beetle again that was climbing the wall and crawling through the cracked window pane.

For some reason Hermione's skin began to crawl.

"Why are you telling me this?" Hermione asked in a small voice. It didn't make sense, not with the way Lavender had stolen Ron from her. Not with the way Lavender had acted at the Halloween Ball. Not with the way she had been giving Hermione death glares since. It was as though someone had flipped a switch and given her a personality transplant!

"I just thought you should know" Lavender said with a shrug. Before Hermione or Ginny could say anything else, Lavender gave one sad look towards the girls and turned on her heel to retreat back down the dark corridor.

Although it wasn't much, Lavender did feel a little bit better. Parkinson would never know that Lavender had spoken to Hermione, or that she had warned her. Everything would be fine and Lavender could start to feel a bit better about herself.

"She's a weird one she is" Ginny remarked with a nod of her head towards Lavender.

"Definitely" Hermione replied, more confused than ever. What was that?

"Anyways, were you going somewhere?" Ginny asked, forgetting about Lavender and turning back to Hermione, her excitement returning.

"Oh ye – well, errrrr – actually I was just going to see Draco…" Hermione trailed off, not really knowing what to say. Although Ginny had agreed to try and not stop Hermione from seeing him anymore, it was still a bit awkward talking about him to her.

To Hermione's surprise, Ginny only smiled wider at her, adding to her suspicions that something was going on.

"Sure, I'll let you go! Oh and remember – Gryffindor colours at the Quidditch Game tomorrow!" she reminded Hermione as she hugged her and practically skipped down the hallway.

Hermione stared after her friend. What had gotten into her all of a sudden?

Whatever it was, Hermione didn't want to argue with it. She was just happy that Ginny seemed to be coming around a little bit and that they were starting over!

With a new-found spring in her step, Lavender and her cryptic warning at the very back of her mind, the mysterious figure buried under Hermione's happiness, she turned too and carried on down the hallway.

When she reached the wall at the end, she looked both ways to check that the coast was clear before stepping up to it and imagining where she wanted to go.

Into the arms of the one person she wanted so desperately to see.

A soft rumbling sounded in her ears and when her eyes fluttered open, a familiar-looking door stood in place where stone had been only moments before.

She reached out her hand and felt the smooth texture of the door handle beneath her fingertips. Smiling to herself as she buzzed with excitement, she twisted it and cracked the door open ever so slightly to let a trickle of light filter through the crack.

Opening it wider, she stepped inside and brought a surprised hand up to her face as she gasped and her heart swelled with happiness at the sight before her.


	10. Never Have I Ever

- Never Have I Ever: Chapter 10 - 

Hermione stepped into the room completely and was met by the warm glow from the large roaring fireplace on the opposite wall.

She closed her eyes and breathed in the welcoming fresh scent of the room and smiled when they fluttered back open.

She was back in the room where it all began.

The room where she first found Draco.

Everything was the same – the warm wood paneling on the walls, the plush red velvet couches facing each other by the fireplace, the wall of built-in bookcases to her right and the shiny, polished dark wood floors that reflected Hermione's smiling face.

There were a few differences however.

For one, soft music was playing in the background from an old-fashioned dark wood record player in the corner by the fireplace. Hermione recognized the song, and it made the corners of her eyes wrinkle as her smile grew.

It was the song she and Draco had danced to at the Halloween Ball – Elvis Presley's version of "Can't Help Falling In Love".

Hermione found herself swaying from side to side and before she realized she was twirling in the centre of the room, smiling giddily to herself. When she twirled towards the wall of arched windows she was stopped by something truly heart-warming.

Draco had asked the room to provide a small round glass-topped table by one of the large windows that over-looked the Black Lake.

In the centre of the table sat a small crystal vase of cream roses and red rose petals were scattered around the tabletop surface.

She walked over in a daze to the table and noted that two lavish chairs with red cusions to match the couches sat on either side of it. She also noticed the two round cystal plates with rose petals encrusted into the rims and matching cutlery and wine glasses.

"Wow" Hermione whispered to herself as she ran a single delicate finger over one of the immaculate plates, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

The moonlight shone through the window, bathing the table in a pearly glow that contrasted beautifully with the flames of the candles that floated throughout the room and the warm glow of the fireplace.

The view from the window was truly breath taking. It overlooked the Black Lake and the best part of Hogwarts grounds. From here Hermione could see the Cherry Trees below and the old Oak Trees that were charmed never to lose their leaves. She could see the water falls in the mountains in the distance and the faint rippling of the icy water in the lake as the bitter cold winter wind rolled over the surface of it.

But that was not the best part of the view. The very best part was the God-like man leaning on the small stonewall of the large semi-circle balcony that led off of the room.

His back was to Hermione and he was gazing out at the view that Hermione had been admiring just a moment ago.

The golden flaxen hair atop his head appeared to shine in the moonlight as it gleamed down upon him and his fair skin resembled the finest porcelain, looking like ivory in the pallid glow of the moon.

Hermione tip-toed through the glass door to her right, taking care not to make the slightest bit of noise and crept up behind Draco, covering his eyes with both her hands and reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss his neck from behind, letting her tongue flick across his tender flesh.

"Guess who?" she whispered huskily in his ear when she pulled away.

She saw Draco smile as he turned around to face her and leaned back against the wall. He slinked one arm around her waist while he brought one finger up to his chin, as if in deep thought. Hermione giggled but didn't take her hands away from his eyes.

"Hmmm is it…Winky?"

Hermione couldn't help but throw her head back and laugh at that.

"No" she replied playfully, still chuckling at the thought of Winky creeping up on Draco like this.

"Well is it Dotty the other House Elf?" he asked again, his smile evident on his face.

"Wrong again" she replied in a flirty sing-song voice as she wriggled into his embrace a little more.

"Well if you're not either of them, I do sincerely hope you're not McGonagall" he teased, inwardly cringing at the thought.

"Let me give you a clue" she breathed into his ear and she lowered her head to begin planting a trail of feather-light kisses down his neck and jaw. His skin felt like silk beneath her lips and she inhaled the sweet scent of his cologne.

When she reached his jaw, Draco couldn't take it anymore and twisted his head to the side quickly to catch her lips with his. The finger that had been on his chin moved to the curve of her neck, and he just held her there, savouring the moment and the taste of her cherry-flavoured lips before moving it to the nape of her neck and pulling her in for more.

Hermione's head was beginning to spin a little from the lack of oxygen, but she didn't pull away even for a second. Her breath was ragged and heavy as Draco pulled her in further and she willingly succumbed, her hands moving up from his eyes – which had fluttered closed in the sheer ecstasy of the kiss – to tangle in his sleek and glossy locks.

Of course, doing this only deepened the kiss and Draco's tongue traced Hermione's lips, and she gladly let him in, opening her mouth to let their tongues meet in a flurry of heat and passion while Draco's hand on Hermione's back began to explore the contours of the side of her body.

It was only when Hermione's knees began to buckle that she pulled away, her breath still ragged and heavy to find that Draco was exactly the same, except with a smug smile on his face.

He could see her flushed cheeks, her swollen lips and he felt the way her chest rose and fell with each pant as she struggled to catch her breath. Her heart thudded audibly beneath her school blouse and it made him the happiest man in the world to know that the girl cradled in his arms was all his.

She looked up at him, just enjoying the warmth of his embrace and noting that he seemed to look good anytime. Even with his hair blowing violently in the wind and tickling her face.

He smiled down at her, admiring the way her honey-brown eyes sparkled in the moonlight and kissed the tip of her nose where she had a faint dusting of freckles. She giggled at his touch and he smiled against her skin when she crinkled her nose.

"Hey there stranger" he greeted her in a low voice, his hands locked around her waist and protecting her from the blustery winter air.

"Hello you" she greeted back, her breathing finally under control but her head still swimming with the bliss from her and Draco's kiss.

"Thanks for coming" he said as he pushed himself off the low stonewall and led her by the hand back towards the glass doors.

"Of course why wouldn't I?" she asked, grasping his hand tighter.

"Well it's just that some people start to get cold feet at the one-month anniversary, but I should have known better. You're not like every one else, that's why I love you so much" he admitted, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks. It baffled him how comfortable he felt around her that he could just admit things like that. Never before had he felt this comfortable before, with anyone.

Suddenly, he felt a weight tug on the end of his hand and he staggered slightly at the force of it. Confused, he turned around to find that Hermione had stopped walking completely, her face as white as the snow that had started falling from the clouds above and her expression the very definition of horror.

"Maybe I spoke too soon?" Draco remarked, all colour drained from his Angelic face at the prospect of Hermione abandoning him because she was scared.

At the mention of their one-month Anniversary, Hermione had completely frozen and immediately began mentally shooting herself.

How could she forget their one-month Anniversary?

Had Ginny really been keeping her that preoccupied that she'd completely forgotten?

'Damn those Weasley's to Hell!' Hermione cursed to herself. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten something so important. Well – to her it was important. And apparently to Draco too as he'd gone to the bother of creating such a romantic setting.

But when she heard Draco suggest that Hermione had started to back out of the relationship, and she saw the hurt look on his perfect face, guilt hit her like a ton of bricks and she instantly began shaking her head and ran forward to reassure him.

"No, no, no Draco no. Please don't think that – how could I think of leaving you after the way you've made me feel so complete and happy in this past month? No, I'm not freaking out because of that…I'm – errr – I mean I'm…well I-I-I…" she stumbled over her words. How could she admit to her boyfriend that she forgot something so special?

"What is it love?" he asked, his voice full of concern. He was elated to learn that she wasn't scared because of the commitment, but seeing her freak out like this scared him ten times more. She looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights!

"Well ummm, I don't know how to say this but – I, I mean-"

'Oh stop your stammering Hermione and just bloody admit it already!' the voice in the back of her head yelled at her.

"-Iforgotitwasourone-monthAnniversaryandI'msorry!" she said it all in one nervous breath and stood there, actually sweating and shaking as she waited for what was sure to be his crushed reaction.

But instead he just blinked at her.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that. What did you say love?" he asked her gently, cradling her cheek with one hand and brushing her hair out of her face with the other. He felt her relax a little bit as his fingertips caressed her cheek and he noted the way she closed her eyes and nervously bit her lip.

Was Hermione Granger nervous?

She took one more calming breath before confessing her slip-up again.

"I said: I forgot it was our one-month Anniversary and I'm sorry!" she said it quickly, but slow enough for Draco to catch every word.

She kept her eyes shut tight, so she didn't have to see his crushed face when he realized she'd forgotten. She waited for him to say something – how upset he was, how much of an awful girlfriend she was, something – but instead, the loudest most hysterical laughter erupted in the cold night air and her eyes flew open to reveal Draco Malfoy clutching his sides and rolling around the stone balcony in front of her.

"How can you find this funny?" Hermione cried at him, stomping her foot angrily at his behavior. This was serious!

"B-Because it i-is!" he managed to say inbetween loud guffaws.

Hermione crossed her arms, her forehead furrowed into a disapproving frown and her bottom lip pouted.

"I don't see how, I've only gone and ruined our Anniversary haven't I? I'm the worst girlfriend in the world – I didn't even get you anything!" she revealed, her head hanging in shame and her voice cracking on the last word as her vision went blurry.

The laughing ceased immediately and before she knew it, a pair of strong arms were holding her tight around her upper body and crushing him to his well-toned chest.

"Don't every say anything like that again Hermione," he breathed into her hair as he stroked it and tried to reassure her, "I know it's only been a month but it's the best month I've ever had – all because of you. You say you didn't get me a present, but that's not true. Your love is best present you could ever give me, and you give it to me every single day. Never Have I Ever cared about a person as much as I care about you – and nothing is going to change that" he told her as he pulled back and kissed both her cheeks and the tip of her nose before kissing each guilty tear that had trickled down her flushed cheeks.

She sniffled and wiped at a tear as she looked up at him. She really didn't deserve him.

"I'm sor-"

"Don't say you're sorry love, you have no reason to be. Just please come inside and lets enjoy the rest of the night?" he asked hopefully, giving her his best smile that he saved only for her and tugging on her hand again.

Hermione mentally shook herself. Draco was right, she should just go inside and try to salvage the rest of the night.

She nodded and couldn't suppress her smile when he gave her that amazing grin of his.

"Shall we Hermione?" he offered his arm to her and a hysterical gargle of laughter escaped her lips. Even when she felt awful, he still managed to make her feel wonderful.

"We shall" she replied, with her coy smile and a little spring in her step as she wound her arm through his and let him lead her back into the room.

She had to admit that she liked that, their little catch-phrase thing. It always brought her back to that first dance lesson, the Halloween Ball – some of the happiest memories she'd ever had with Draco.

Once they were back inside, Draco- always the gentleman – walked Hermione over to the table and pulled her chair out for her.

When he sat down opposite her, he was glad to see that she seemed to be genuinely smiling and happy. That's all he ever wanted for her.

"Happy Anniversary Love" he said whilst waving his wand, and a canopy of red rose petals began to fall from above, while their plates filled themselves with the most delicious looking Spaghetti that Hermione had ever seen.

"Wow, the House Elves did an amazing job" Hermione said in complete awe at the beautiful dish before her. It not only looked amazing, but it smelled great too.

"Actually, Winky and Dotty only helped me set the table and arrange for the rose petals. I cooked this all by myself" he announced with a self-assured smirk as Hermione gaped at him from across the table. "What? Malfoys can't cook?" he asked teasingly with a throaty chuckle. Was it really that surprising?

Hermione was baffled.

'So he's smart, he's handsome, he can dance, he's a gentleman and he can cook?...wow' she made the checklist to herself, her jaw still hanging open and too speechless to say anything. But she knew that she had to say something.

"You cook?" she stupidly asked, and wished the floor would just swallow her up.

"Yes, I taught myself though. If Mother and Father found out they'd go insane – according to Father it's 'Servants work'-," he explained, imitating Lucius's voice perfectly,"- but seeing as they weren't really around that much and I was raised by House Elves mostly, I picked it up pretty quickly."

He finished with a shrug, trying to act like he didn't care. But Hermione saw the sadness that passed through his eyes and instinctively; she reached out her hand to place it on top of his next to the flickering candle.

"I play the piano" she blurted out, why was she divulging this? "It's creative, but it can also be taught from a book. I like that."

Dracos eyes widened at her and a pleasantly surprised smile played at the corner of his lips.

"I didn't know you played the piano" he remarked as he snapped his fingers and their glasses began to fill with Butter Beer.

"I didn't know you could cook" she acknowledged back, returning his friendly smile and taking a bite of her dinner. It tasted as good as it looked.

They ate in silence for a moment or two, Draco's right hand on top of Hermione's left and his finger tips tracing small soothing patterns on the back of her hand. That was until it occurred to him that although they'd been dating for a month now, he didn't actually know that much about her.

So he felt the need to keep up the sharing.

"I read my first proper book at the age of five" he said casually, knowing that that would catch her interest. He was right, she leaned forward in her seat eager to learn more.

"I read mine at the age of four. What book was it?" she asked, noting the impressed smile he gave her.

"Well I had a required reading list growing up – my parents were rather strict. They were determined to give me a proper 'Pureblood' upbringing, which meant I had to be well-read. So the first proper book I read was 'Hogwarts, A History'. I actually liked it though, it's a good book."

Draco had been looking out of the window, admiring the view when he heard a clattering sound and whirled his head around to find the source of the noise.

The second Hermione had heard the name of the book, she'd completely frozen and she was sure that if she'd looked at her reflection in the window, she would have looked like a codfish with her mouth hanging open. But she'd actually dropped her fork when he told her he'd enjoyed it. Nobody enjoyed the same books she read.

"I-I love that book! It's amazing!" she exclaimed, still in complete shock. Could he get anymore perfect?

"I thought so too, I've read it –"

"More times than I can count" they both said in unison, and smiled goofily at each other afterwards.

"What's your happiest memory from when you were younger?" he asked, surprised at himself for asking the question but put it down to simply being happy in this moment with Hermione.

Hermione took a moment to think back across the years before deciding on one.

"Finding out I was a Witch" she answered, her eyes glazing over as a smile crept onto her lips. "I was being bullied at my Muggle school so when I got my Hogwarts letter I was so happy – it felt like a new beginning," Hermione remembered sitting in the garden in her white strappy sundress and an excited buzz ran through her body when she remembered the owl swooping down beside her. But her smile began to falter and her forehead furrowed into a sad frown, "Except it wasn't really much easier at Hogwarts…not until after Halloween at least wh-" she clamped her lips together in a firm line when she realized what she was saying.

The reason her first year had been so bad up until Halloween was because of a certain bully.

A bully who sitting across the table from her and stroking her hand affectionately.

Draco's fingers stopped tracing swirly patterns and instead encompassed her delicate hand in his strong one and gave it a squeeze, while he moved around the table to kneel by her side and cupped her cheek with his other hand.

"I'm sorry Hermione. I'm sorry I was so horrible to you…" he trailed off, completely at a loss for words. How could he ever completely express to her how sorry he was?

Hermione saw the way his features went hard and his jaw clenched. He was angry at himself. In the back of her mind, Hermione thought he deserved to be angry with himself. He had truly been horrible to her. That was until she remembered a certain incident that made the corners of her slightly pouted lips turn up in a smile.

"It's alright, if I remember correctly I wasn't the nicest person to you either."

Draco stared in confusion at her growing smile as she tried to suppress a laugh and he caught on to her train of thought as he felt a tingle in his nose.

"I deserved that punch in third year when I think back on it – I was being a bit of an arse."

"Yes you were," she agreed with a soft laugh. She noted the way he frowned and looked to the ground, ashamed of his past behaviour when he felt a small pressure on his left cheek and he looked back at her. "But you're different now. You're nicer, you're caring, but most importantly…you're mine."

"And you're mine, for as long as you want to be" he told her smiling up at her as she lowered her head to rest her forehead against his.

"Can I be yours forever?" she asked. It was barely louder than a whisper but he heard every bit of emotion in it. Adoration. Caring. Sincerity. Love. It was all enough to make his heart melt and he felt a lump form in his throat. Never had he been happier than right now.

Since the incident in his sixth year with Dumbledore, Draco had become a Pariah at Hogwarts. People avoided looking at him, they barely even acknoweleged him. Before Draco had Hermione, he had been completely alone, so the fact that she asked if she could be his forever made his heart do little leaps and swell with joy.

"Far long than forever" he breathed against her lips before capturing them with his own. He felt her smile against his mouth and when he pulled away and allowed his eyes to flutter open he was happy to see that she was indeed smiling. Actually, beaming was a better word to describe it.

"I like the sound of that" she whispered, a bit breathless from the kiss but ecstatic nonetheless.

"So do I" he smiled back at her as he moved off of his knee and shuffled back to his chair, their hands still clasped together.

They sat like that for a few moments, just enjoying this moment. They had just told eachother they wanted to be together forever, and Draco was sure there was no better feeling than this. He felt like he was on cloud number 9!

"So what's your happiest memoy?" Hermione asked, taking another bite of her pasta.

The memory began to replay before Draco's eyes and he only grinned broader at the beauty before him. His answer was past his lips before his heart had taken two beats.

"Flying a broomstick for the first time. The freedom I felt when I was just soaring through the air…it was-" his words got caught up in the emotional lump in his throat as h struggled to find the words,"-excellent."

A million emotions surged through Hermione at that moment.

Sadness - for Draco. She could tell that growing up hadn't been an enjoyable experience for him and all she wanted to do was hold him and make all of his bad memories go away. No child should want to get away from their parents so much that being able to fly away from them was their happiest memory.

Happiness – because she was starting to get to know him better than she ever had before. Even though they were only talking about their happiest memories, they were revealing so much more about themselves than that.

But the most prominent was the one that she felt as she mentally slapped herself for what she said next. Stupidity.

"I've never properly flown a broomstick before" she said in a dazed voice, completely engrossed in her conversation with Draco and everything she was feeling that she forgot that that was probably the worst thing a person could say to a Quidditch player.

She was right – Draco's jaw just about hit off of the table.

"You're kidding" he practically begged. That was when he realized that he had never actually seen her on a broom before – except maybe in first year in Flying class and when she saved him last year in the Room of Requirement with Potter and Weasley. "Why?"

This defied all logic and reason to him. Flying was amazing! He knew that Hermione was more of the 'indoor' type of girl, who would rather sit with a book than go out flying but surely she could appreciate it as much as he could!

She shifted awkwardly in her chair and he felt her hand go rigid under his. Was that nervousness he saw in her honey-brown eyes which were bulging slightly?

"Well erm…Well actually you see, err-"

Draco recognized the look in her eyes and way she had completely frozen up. It was the same as earlier that day in Defense Against the Dark Arts. He knew she shouldn't, but he simply couldn't hold back the smirk that threatened to form on his lips.

"Is Hermione Granger scared of flying?" he asked, mocking playful shock.

"Well yes! I have every reason to be! What if I fall off? Do you know how difficult it is to cast spells to slow yourself down while you're falling?" she cried, growing more panicked by the second as she thought more and more about it.

"You'd hardly fall Love" he scoffed. "So you're telling me you've never properly ridden a broom before?" he asked with a perked eyebrow.

"No Draco. Never Have I Ever ridden on an unstable piece of wood with bristles sticking out of the end of it, hundreds of feet up in the air where I'm completely exposed to the elements and all of the danger that accompanies them" she replied sarcastically. Even talking about flying made her edgy.

"Well that's about to change" he told her with a smirk as he pulled her hand and dragged her out onto the balcony. Even though the snow was falling thickly around them, Hermione could still see the sparkle in Draco's eyes before he closed them for a second and appeared to concentrate on something.

That's when she realized what he meant and she began backing up at a 100 miles per hour until her back came into contact with the wall of the balcony and she was trapped.

"No! No, **no**, _**no**_, _**NO**_! There is no way you are getting me to fly Draco Malfoy. Not even a heard of raging Centaurs could force me onto a broom by myself!" she exclaimed into the cold night air. The icy cold that encircled her bare legs was nothing compared to the cold that began to root itself in her heart. It was the fear that was doing that.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a shadow moving fast amidst the snow and wind and within seconds, a polished broom glided infront of Draco to hover at his waist.

"Who said you would be alone?" he asked with a knowing smile as he took a step towards her. The snow and wind was whipping his face and stinging his eyes but he didn't once take them off of Hermione, and she shook her head violently from side to side under the intensity of his gaze.

"No Draco" she whined as he grew closer. "I don't want t- what did you mean 'who said you would be alone?'" she asked, perking an eyebrow that was dusted with snow flakes.

"You didn't think I'd let you go by yourself did you? It's snowing" he said in an obvious voice, gesturing with his hands to the snow falling in thick clumps around them.

"Precisely my point!" she cried, throwing her hands in the air out of frustration. "We could fall- or I could fall! The broom could get frozen, we could get lost, my ears could pop-" Draco smirked at this one and had to bite his lip to stop the gargle of laughter that threatened to escape his lips. "-It's not funny!" she scolded, stomping her foot childishly on the ground.

Seeing as she had never properly been on a broomstick, she couldn't say for certain if the air pressure would make her ears pop or not. She knew that it definitely did when she was on a plane, and she hated it. She didn't particularly care if the same thing applied to broom riding, it was just one more excuse she could give for not riding that blasted contraption.

But sensing that Draco was not buying her excuses, she hurried on again.

"We could hit a wall, get caught in an even worse snow storm than this one, we could get hypothermia and di-"

"Hermione," Draco said seriously, closing the last of the distance between them and cupping her face in his hands. Even though it was freezing outside, his touch always managed to make her feel so warm and she felt her cheeks flush beneath his hands as he gazed at her so intently. "Never have I ever cared for anyone as much as I do about you. It's because I care so much about you that I don't want you to miss out on this amazing experience. I promise I won't let you fall, and I definitely won't let you get cold-" he flashed a sexy smile at her and her cheeks burned even more,"-please, let me take you on this one broom ride on our Anniversary?"

She didn't even know how he had managed to lead her away from the wall and over to the broom in the centre of the balcony without her realizing it – but he had. She felt the bristles of it stroke her bare and frozen knee and a trickle of warmth lingered on her skin where the bristles had touched it. She reasoned that he must have put a warming charm on it – using nonverbal spells of course. He probably did it after she came away with that ridiculous excuse about getting hypothermia! With any luck he'd also installed a GPS, and every kind of anti-crashing spell on this broom.

She pursed her lips as she stared at it. Although the thought of falling off the broom terrified her, she knew that the chances of it happening with Draco close-by were very slim.

"Do you trust me?" Draco asked, seeing the apprehension written all over her face as she contemplated whether or not to get on the broom.

"With out a doubt" she replied instantly. Once again, she mentally slapped, shot, and punched herself repeatedly when she realized that was the closing statement on the matter and that her fate had been sealed.

"Brilliant" Draco sighed as he bent down to kiss her cheek where a snowflake had just landed. He felt it turn to water and he watched it trickle slowly down her silky-smooth skin before wiping it away with another kiss. "Do you want to be at the front or the back?"

"Excuse me?" she asked, fear creeping back into her voice as Draco tugged on her hand again, but this time more gentle and with a small smile.

"Let's put it this way: would you rather be at the back of the broom with _your_ arms around _me_, or be at the front of the broom with _my_ arms around _you_?"

"Your arms around me. Definitely" she responded in a rush, and then blushing even deeper when she realized how that sounded. Merlin, she sounded so needy! It's not that she didn't want his arms around her, it's just that she didn't want him thinking she was desperate or anything like Lavender Brown.

Draco had to grin at that, he had to admit that he liked it when she responded so quickly about wanting his arms around her. He knew she didn't mean it in a desperate way or anything, she was just flustered. But it was still cute, and funnily enough, that's how he wanted it to be too – his arms wrapped around her.

"Come on then" he said as he held out one hand and pushed his damp, silken hair out of his eyes with the other. She took his hand gingerly as he helped her mount the front of the broom. Hermione realized that once she sat on it, that it was heated and she couldn't be more thankful as she tucked her legs in at the side and brought them closer to the warm wood.

More warmth was added around her body as Draco slung a leg over the broom and mounted it too, scooting forward so that his parted legs held her body in place as he wrapped one arm around her waist and gripped the handle of the broom with the other. Although he was already so close, Hermione found herself nuzzling back into him, relishing in his scent and loving the way her lower back and her bum were cradled perfectly in-between his legs. She definitely wasn't falling off anytime soon.

"Ready?" he whispered in her ear, causing her to shiver involuntarily as his warm breath caressed her ear lobe and the exposed flesh along her neck where her hair didn't quite cover it. It was then she realized how stupid she had been to agree to this, with neither of them wearing jackets or coats. She was only wearing her school skirt, knee-length white socks, her school skirt and her robes! Still, she shut her eyes tight and hunched her shoulders – gripping the broom hard and bracing herself for what was sure to be one of her biggest regrets as she nodded.

It felt like a second had barely passed by when she felt a shaking from behind her and she cracked one eye open to look over her shoulder at Draco. He was chuckling heartily, even letting the hand that moved to hold her right hip rub soothing circles into it.

"You can look now love" he told her, and she frowned at him in confusion before realization washed over her and she looked down.

"OH!" she gasped, suddenly holding onto the broom for dear life and scooting further back into Draco's embrace for safety.

The ground was completely gone from beneath her feet and he appeared to have just flown straight off of the Balcony rather than soaring upwards into the sky like she had expected him to. This was good, he was being mindful of her fear of flying and instead of going into the clouds, they were gliding over the Black Lake.

Hermione wondered how he was able to see where he was going, the snow was falling even faster now and she could barely see more than a few feet infront of her – and she was at the front of the broom. That's when she noticed that no snow was actually hitting her in the face and she saw the way that the snowfall parted before the broom as it soared through the air.

'Well done Draco' she praised in her head, slightly in awe that he had thought of that to calm her down. He really was too good at these nonverbal spells.

"It's alright, I've got you" Draco reassured her as his hand on her hip moved across her stomach to lock itself around her waist.

She instantly felt better when she felt his arm fasten itself around her tiny waist and she relaxed back into him again – all tension from her being completely gone.

Actually, she was so relaxed that without realzing it, she outstretched her hands to the side to let them glide through the falling snowflakes on either side of the broom. Draco smiled at this, she looked like an Angel. Well she always did, but especially now with the snow caking her robes in white and her hands acting like wings as they soared through the air.

The Black Lake was not far below them, and as they whizzed past a row of bare trees that lined the far edge of the lake she looked up in an attempt to see the Moon. It was completely obscured by the thick snow clouds above, she couldn't even see a single star.

Draco followed her line of vision and bowed his head to whisper in her ear once more.

"Want to go higher?" he asked her. Surprising herself, she found that she nodded enthusiastically as though it were her reflex reaction to do so. But then scrunched up her eyes and braced herself again. She was expecting it – the horrible popping in her ears with the air pressure as she felt the clouds around her and then nothing.

"Wait a second – ok, open…now" he told her in a husky voice. She did so and gasped again, but this time out of sheer shock – shock at the beauty that was before her.

They were no longer surrounded by snow, no longer engulfed in a world of ice or wind. There weren't even any clouds above them. They were above the clouds.

Where Draco had stopped, her feet dangled just above the fluffiest snow cloud, and she let her foot skim across the surface. She shivered at the cold, damp feeling of the cloud but ended up giggling – she had just touched a cloud. Draco smiled at her laughter, if this is how she was reacting now then he couldn't wait to see her reaction when she looked ahead of her and saw the big surprise.

He pointed in front of them and Hermione turned her head slowly.

"It's beautiful!" she gasped, bringing her hands up to her face to cover her mouth in surprise as her eyes began to water a little bit.

The moon was right in front of them. It was big, pearly, waxy and everything Hermione could have ever hoped for it to be like on their Anniversary. She simply gazed at it in awe, completely captivated by it's beauty. That was until she felt a pressure on her right shoulder and she instinctively reached for her wand to curse whatever had landed there.

But when she turned she found Draco's chin resting on her shoulder, just by the curve of her neck with a soft smile. He turned his head slightly to give her a feather-light kiss on her shoulder before continuing up and down her neck. Hermione didn't know what it was, whether it was the setting they were in or if it was the fact that being like this with Draco blessed her out so much that she didn't think straight.

But she knew she felt brave enough to reach up and wrap her arms around his neck.

She pulled him into the kiss first, but he deepened it – cupping both of her hips in his hands and pulling her even closer to him, so she was properly nestled in-between his legs. One of his hands moved away from her hip to tangle itself in her hair while the other stayed on her waist. She found that her upper body was rocking backwards and forwards ever so slightly as their lips moved against each others, and whenever her chest pressed against Dracos she heard his breath catch in his throat. Having her pressed up against him like that really was one of the best feelings, especially in such an amazing setting like this one.

As Draco let his tongue trace the outline of Hermione's bottom lip and an another shiver of desire passed through her, she reasoned that if flying was like this all the time, she'd have no problem with it! But only if it was with Draco.

Draco felt her shiver and took it that she was cold, which she was, but she didn't particularly care when their bodies were pressed together like this.

"We should probably head back, I don't want you to catch a cold" he breathed against her lips and she pressed hers together while nodding. Before she turned back around she gave him one last quick kiss and nestled herself further into his legs. He propped his head on her shoulder and wrapped an arm around her delicate waist again before turning the broom and sparing one last look at the moon before diving through the clouds beneath their feet.

Unfortunately the charm Draco had placed on the broom to keep the snow away had worn off and so by the time their feet touched the floor of the stone balcony again, they were soaked with the snow and their teeth were chattering.

Determined to get her out of the cold, Draco lifted Hermione bridal style off of the broom and carried her through the glass doors and across the floor to the roaring fireplace.

It didn't register in Hermione's mind that she was freezing and that her lips were turning blue. It also didn't really register that while Draco was carrying her, one of his fingers was stroking her bare thigh.

All that seemed to register to Hermione was the butterflies that were still in her stomach from their decent. She had just flown! Granted she hadn't been the one flying the broom, but still! She hadn't screamed, she hadn't been paranoid about crashing and her ears hadn't even popped once!

Draco summoned a few of the large, red plush cusions from the couch before lowering her gently on top of them in front of the fireplace. She sighed happily at the warmth that engulfed her as she sat infront of the fireplace. She felt something running along the skin of her exposed arms and turned to look at Draco.

"I'm so proud of you" he said, with sincerity and pride evident in every word.

Hermione smiled at him. His hair was soaking wet, but it still managed to hang in his silvery eyes perfectly. Perhaps it was because he was cold that his skin seemed paler than usual, or maybe it was the waxy light of the moon that peeked through the clouds to shine through the window. What ever it was, his skin had never looked smoother, icy or simply perfect – even if it was covered in droplets of water which fell from his flaxen hair.

Like Hermione, his wet clothes clung to his body, emphasizing every toned muscle that graced his biceps and chest. Where Draco's wet school shirt emphasized every muscle, Hermione's fitted see-through blouse emphasized every curve. Her hair hung in wet ringlets around her face and dripped down her back. Her cheeks were flushed as warmth flowed back into her body, but her lips were still blue and she was breathing heavily through her mouth.

Although Hermione would argue that she looked like a mess, Draco thought she'd never looked more naturally gorgeous.

Simply saying 'Thank You' didn't seem like a good enough way to convey how happy she was or how perfect that broom ride had been. So she crawled from her space on the cushions until she reached him and stopped to kneel in front of him and kiss him.

His lips moved in time against hers, and his eyes shot open in surprise when he felt her tongue move over his lips. It was always him that did that to her, but still he was not complaining. He saw that her eyes were closed and the corners of her mouth were turned up slightly as she worked her magic on his mouth. He was smiling too and closed his eyes to enjoy the moment more.

Their tongues met, slowly and passionately at first but quickly grew more fervent as their breathing came harder and more ragged. Hermiones fingers ran through Draco's hair and his hands moved to cup her waist again, but instead of staying there, he lifted her effortlessly into his lap and she straddled his hips in front of the fireplace.

The kiss lasted a few more seconds before they both pulled away gasping for air, Hermione's chest rising and falling rapidly in time with Draco's and causing her breasts to swell beneath her blouse when their chests made contact with each other.

They looked into each others eyes, the adoration and desire reflected in both.

Hermione's were burning with such an intense passion that made her Honey-brown eyes turn to the liquid gold colour that Draco loved so much.

Draco's were on fire with an immense desire, making his blue-grey eyes cause a snow storm of emotions to surge through her body. Oh how she loved it when he did that.

Liquid-Gold meets Winter Night.

Fire meets Ice.

Never had either of them Ever craved each other as much as they did, then, in that moment.

Before they realized it, their lips were crashing together again in heated kisses. Feeling nothing more for her than intense love and longing, Draco's hips began to buck, not dissimilar as to how Hermione's had earlier that day in the store cupboard. Hermione gasped. The most amazing feeling shot through her as she was lifted up with Draco's hips and she felt his desire push against the inside of her thigh. This was the first time this had happened, usually Draco was able to keep his…_emotions_ under control, but with their bodies in this heated tangle together he was finding it incredibly hard.

He was glad to see that he hadn't made her uncomfortable. On the contrary, being with him like this made her realize that she had never needed, or wanted anything as much as him before. She needed his touch, and she wanted more.

As they breathed hard against each other's lips and stared intently at one another, Hermione's hands untangled themselves from Draco's hair to run ever so lightly past his shoulders and over his shirt, digging her nails in slightly as she went.

She ran them back up again and when she reached the collar, she didn't hesitate to start unbuttoning his shirt, one by one. She kissed him ardently as her fingers worked on his buttons as his hands began to caress the full length of her upper body.

She reached the bottom of his shirt and he moaned involuntarily against her lips when her warm skin came into contact with his. Hermione leaned back slightly and just marveled at him. She had never given him enough credit for having such an amazing body before, and was determined to change that as she ran the palms of her hands over his well-defined muscles and pushed his shirt off.

He unhooked his arms from her waist to let her run her palms along his shoulders and let his shirt slide to the ground. They sat there for a moment, just gazing at each other as the light of the fireplace flickered and danced, causing interesting patterns to form against his bare skin.

Their lips met, more urgently this time and Hermione's hips moved of their own accord against Draco's. Despite the layers of clothing between them, it still felt amazing. Hermione's head rolled back as Draco moved his lips from her mouth to her jaw and began placing kisses down her curve of her neck. With his lips against her and their hips keeping up a steady rhythm, Hermione couldn't help but release a pleasurable moan into the warm air.

Draco's lips continued on their path down her neck and along her collarbone. When he reached the hollow of her throat, he couldn't resist flicking his tongue out and his lips curved into a smirk at the little whimper that escaped her lips.

His hands rubbed the side of her body and the pads of his thumbs stroked her ribcage on the way down. Although he expected her to, she didn't give a little start or even hesitate when he reached the waistband of her skirt and began tugging her shirt out of it. He slid his hands under her blouse, and over surface of her bare abdomen. He felt her stomach shy away from him beneath his fingertips, but her back arched forward, crushing her breasts even more against his chest and driving him wild. The kiss grew more feverish and as Draco's hand roamed over Hermione's bare skin beneath her shirt she didn't know what to do. It felt heavenly and tickled at the same time, and not knowing whether to giggle or moan, she decided to settle for both as her head rolled backwards again.

The newly exposed tanned skin that glowed in the light of the fireplace was too tempting to resist, and Draco moved his lips back to her neck and then up to suck on her ear lobe, resulting in a blissful moan to pass her lips. With the pounding sensation that was coursing through her body – not just from the kissing, but his touch and the friction between their hips too – Hermione really wished that they had somewhere more comfortable than the floor to continue on as she gripped his silky hair tight between her hands as the pleasure was suddenly intensified.

At that thought, a muffled thump registered in their ears, and Draco reluctantly removed his lips from Hermione's ear lobe and ceased his exploring of her body with his hands to look over his shoulder.

A large four postered bed had appeared from no where, angled between the two walls behind them at the corner. It was rather lavish – to match the effect of the rest of the room – with gold silk sheets, a high fluffy mattress and an array of sumptuous tasseled cusions scattered around the pillows and red-velvet headboard. Draco knew that he hadn't summoned the bed, as much as his body was protesting for him to do so, and so he took that as her silent way – or not so silent with the groans she was emitting – of telling him that she wanted more.

He was only too happy to succumb to her nonverbal request, and held on to her voluptuous thighs as he lifted her from the ground. Her hands tightened their grip in his hair and her legs wrapped around his waist, locking themselves with her ankles as he carried her to the bed. Her heart gave a little leap in anticipation as he propped her on the edge of the mattress, her body sinking into the sheets beneath her. He stepped forward and began to crawl on top of her. She moved back, with him following her until she felt the feathery pillows caress the nape of her neck and she brought her arms up above her head, biting her lip to suppress the moan as his body leaned over hers and she felt a pleasant tingling with the pressure of his body against her.

She parted her legs so that he could nestle himself between her hips as she sat up and pulled her damp blouse over her head. With the discarded apparel falling to the floor she wound one hand around his neck and with a feather-light touch, began brushing her fingertips over his bare chest with the other. He scooted further into her and placed one hand on her neck while the other held her in position at the small of her bare back. Her lips were not unoccupied for long as they moved hungrily against his neck and slowly travelled down past his collarbone, nicking at his flesh and creating little patterns with the tip of her tongue as she did so.

He released a guttural moan as his eyes rolled back into his head and he held her more firmly in his arms. She was making him feel sinfully good, and he found it surprising that he couldn't wait to return the favour. Never had he Ever wanted to pleasure someone as much as he wanted to with her. Never had he Ever taken such delight in it before either. Draco felt a pressure on the taut muscles of his chest and he allowed his eyes to flutter open to look down and find that she was forcing him to lie back on the mattress, a coy smile gracing her swollen lips.

Again, he succumbed and laid back on the mattress, releasing another moan of desire when he felt her mount him and lean down to scatter a trail of fevered kisses down his abdomen as her fingers continued their soothing caress of his body. It felt as though her fingers were sliding across the smoothest porcelain and she felt his muscles tense as hard as marble in expectation when she reached his treasure trail and opened her mouth to let her tongue dance across it. She continued her movements as she fondled with the buckle of Draco's trousers and then moved on to the zipper, feeling a shiver convulse through his body as his excitement grew. When she was done, he arched his back off of the mattress to allow her to slide his trousers down over his narrow hips and, like her blouse, it was quickly forgotten about as it fell to the floor and Hermione leaned over Draco again, this time lying by his side.

Her hand drifted down his body and she teasingly fingered the waistline of his boxers. He moaned as he arched her hips into her hand and she smirked at his eagerness. Deciding to tease him a tad more, she moved her hand to cup his crotch and gave it a squeeze. Despite the obstructing garment, Draco couldn't remember a time he'd been more roused and as his vision fogged red with desire he bucked his hips and pulled her in for a kiss. Their tongues danced quickly and passionately as she released her grip on him to slide her hand underneath the fabric of his boxers and hold him properly. He moaned into their kiss and this time it was his turn to let his fingers tangle themselves into her damp hair. As Hermione worked up a steady rhythm, his moans began to blend together until he was bucking his hips in time with her steady rhythm. His hands started to shake as he held her chin and he nicked at her lip and trapped her tongue between his lips to suck on it. She groaned at the same time he did and together they created a beautiful melody of euphoricly blissful moans.

"Hermione" he breathed raggedly against her mouth. She was pushing him closer and closer to that rapturous edge with every touch, every breath and every moan she emitted into their heated kiss. The sheer ecstasy of the moment was becoming too much to bear and she slowed down her rhythm until it stopped all together as she felt him practically squirm beneath her and she smiled to herself. Letting him go, she brought her hand back up his body to cup his cheek and took a moment to admire him, just him.

His flaxen hair was hanging in his eyes and she brushed it away gently with her fingertips. His eyes burned with such an intense passion and Hermione smiled lightly as she bent her head to kiss him softly on the lips. Although his body protested, he kept the kiss soft and gentle for the time being, matching the slow movements of her lips and turning to the side to cradle her slim waist in his arms. She hooked her right leg around his hip as her fingers twined themselves into his hair once more and he sat back up and moved with her straddling his hips back to the head of the bed where he released her and she lowered herself back into mattress and rested her head on the pillows.

She smiled up at him as he braced himself over her with one arm while the other massaged her left breast with the pad of his thumb through the silky laced material of her bra. "Dra-co" she gasped his name in the middle of a moan and her legs locked tighter around his hips. He loved the way she moaned his name and it only encouraged him to slide her left strap over her shoulder and pull her bra down to properly cup her breast in his hand, kneading it gently and applying pressure as she continued to moan into the curve of his neck.

Hermione's hold on his hair tightened as he scooted down to take her into his mouth. She gasped at the warmth of his tongue as it encircled her erect nipple and she moved one of her hands behind her head to grab one of the many pillows. She felt it bunch in her hand but continued to squeeze it hard as her other hand ran through his hair and tugged at it as a sign to tell him not to stop. Her moans filled the air around them and even in the dim glow from the fireplace Draco could tell that she was reaching that wonderful climax.

Hermione could feel it too, with each touch and grasp of his hand and every flick of his tongue. She moved her hands to hold onto his shoulder blades as much as she could and her legs tensed and locked tighter around him as the moment grew closer and c-

A loud bang resounded through the room as the glass doors on the opposite side of the room slammed shut with the force of the wind and snow outside. The final gust of wind that surged through the open doors caused a pile of the fallen rose petals to swirl through the air and land on the bed sheets and the surrounding stone floor.

Hermione gave a startled gasp and bolted into an upright sitting position. Draco's head also whipped around to find the source of the noise, but he breathed out a relieved sigh when he found that it was only the glass doors slamming shut.

"It's alright Love, it was just the doors" he reassured her as he propped himself on one elbow next to her and reached up to stroke her cheek. She seemed to relax a little bit, but did not lie back. "Just relax" he whispered to her as he pulled her back down to the bed and moved his hands down her body to finger the lacy waistline of her underwear.

"Draco," she gasped, moving to catch his hand before it could disappear and push her over the edge. He looked back up at her with confusion evident on his face as his forehead furrowed into a frown.

"What's wrong love?" he asked, his voice full of concern. Had he done something to upset her or-

"It's just...we've gone so far tonight already, is it ok if we wait a little while before going any further? We've only been dating a month, I don't want to mess things up by moving too quickly..." she said in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper as she shifted her gaze to the bed sheets beneath her. She knew that it wasn't fair to get him that worked up just to stop and she was worried about him being angry. But even though she wanted nothing more than to reach that magnificent climax, she didn't want to do it tonight. They had only been dating for a month, it didn't really feel right doing all of this so quickly...even if it had felt amazing.

Draco saw her shift her gaze and look at the sheets, apparently scared and ashamed. He knew why, and instantly reached out to reassure her. She shouldn't feel this way, not ever.

"Love, that's entirely alright" he told her honestly as he cupped her cheek and turned it back to look at him. "I can wait, we can wait. You're right - although this past month has been the best of my life, it is a relatively short time. I don't want to do anything to make you uncomfortable or jeopardize what we have by moving too fast."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as his words sunk in. She was glad they were both on the same page with this. She'd hate for them to move too quickly and then for things to fall apart because of the awkwardness afterwards.

She leaned her forehead against his and closed her eyes. "Thank you" she breathed against him.

"Anything for you Love. I meant what I said earlier. Never Have I Ever cared for anyone as much as I do for you. I only want you to be happy, so if waiting is something important to you, then I'll wait" he assured her with a casual shrug of his shoulders, to show that it really wasn't a problem for him.

Tears began to prick at the corner of her eyes when he told her again how much he cared for her. Even though she had some of the best friends in the world, she was willing to bet that not even they cared for her as much as Draco did. And that meant the world to her.

"I love you" she said as she kissed his lips and squeezed his hand one last time before swinging her legs over the side of the bed and hopping down. The cold stone floor felt like ice beneath her feet and she gasped and jumped onto her blouse for protection from the cold. Unfortunately this sort of backfired as her blouse was still rather damp, and so now her feet were wet as well as freezing cold.

Draco chuckled at her antics but leaned forward to take her hand again. "I love you too," he replied with a genuine smile. He never got tired of telling her that. After being alone for so long and not knowing what love really was, he was enjoying just being able to relish in it and having someone to love him, just as much as he loved her. It was true that he loved her, he loved her beyond belief. And he wasn't ready to see her go. "Stay with me tonight?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

Although she had been leaving to go back to their Common Room, she was not opposed to staying the night with him here.

"I'd love to" she agreed with a smile, drying her skirt quickly with a charm before climbing back onto the bed. Draco beamed at her and he wriggled underneath the silky sheets - which were surprisingly warm - and held them up for her to crawl under. She did so and nuzzled right into his open embrace, her back pressed hard against his chest and his legs wrapped around hers to keep them warm.

She tucked the sheets around her partly bare chest and relaxed into him as one arm encircled her waist while the other spread across the pillows and she rested her head on his toned bicep. He knew from the last time they had slept together that she liked using his arm for a pillow and liked it too.

"Happy Anniversary Draco" she sighed happily as she allowed her eyes to flutter shut and she placed one hand over the one clasped around her waist.

"Happy Anniversary Hermione" he responded, sleep heavy in his voice as he stroked her hair with the hand that was by her head. Her hair was no longer wet, just a little damp, but Draco didn't mind. He breathed in the sweet scent of her hair, and sighed happily as he allowed his eyes to flutter shut too and buried his face into her hair.

'Never Have I Ever been so happy' was the last thought that both of them had before sleep claimed them with Hermione cradled in Draco's arms against his chest. That night his thudding heartbeat was like her lullaby as it lulled her into the land of dreams, dreams filled with Draco.

Earlier that night she had been worried about spoiling their Anniversary, but as she drifted off to sleep she realized that the record player had been on the entire time, and the words of she and Draco's song reached her ears. This was the best Anniversary she could have ever hoped for.


	11. Lions Den

_The pallid light of the moon filtered through the breaks in the clouds, casting an eerie glow over Malfoy Manor. _

_Draco lay on his bed, gazing up at the green silk canopy above him. This Summer had been particularly boring for him, but then what was he to expect? It wasn't as though the Malfoys would be hosting the same extravagant parties they did before the War. The Malfoy family name was particularly fragile right now, at risk of losing all credibility. Yes, his family had eventually changed sides in the War, but still. His Father had only just escaped a life sentence from Azkaban along with his Mother for being an accomplice, simply on the basis of aiding Harry Potter when he'd been in the woods. If they'd have been sent to Azkaban, the Malfoy family name would have been in complete ruin and beyond regaining any kind of credibility._

_His parents had however been particularly picky about Draco practicing his ballroom dancing however. And his Mother had been meeting with the most random families lately; the Greengrass family, the Bulstrodes, even the Devereuxs from France who had just come out of hiding! He had no idea what was going on, but he did not particularly care._

_He was bored and quite frankly dreading going back to school. His parents insisted that if Draco were to regain some credibility back for the Malfoy name and himself, he'd have to go back to the school he'd thought in and show his support for it. Although didn't need to be in the Castle for five minutes without being able to predict what this year was going to be like. It was obvious what was going to happen – he'd be an Outcast. A Loner. An Outsider. A freaking Pariah! Nobody would want to be friends or even speak to him! Heck, he'd be lucky if they even acknowledged his existen-_

_An irritating tapping sound interrupted his thoughts and he groaned. If it was his Mother calling again for another suit fitting he wasn't going. But as he sat up he realized the sound wasn't coming from his large double-bedroom doors – it was coming from one of the wide French windows on the opposite wall. Sure enough on closer inspection, he saw a large grey owl with white speckles over his feathers and twinkling black orbs for eyes._

_Who'd be sending him owls at this time of night?_

_He crossed the room, stomping his foot with each step in protest of having to move. He had House Elves for this kind of thing didn't he? The window creaked as he pulled the lever and pushed it aside to allow the owl to hop off of the windowsill and onto his desk. It held an envelope in it's shiny beak and hopped closer to Draco and looked up at him, fidgeting impatiently. _

_Confused, he took the envelope and inspected it. He gasped when he saw the familiar red wax seal._

_He immediately began tearing it open, and when he did something fell out and hit the floor with a 'clink'._

'_**Dear Mr. Malfoy,**_

_**I do hope that this letter finds you in good spirits and that you have had a pleasant Summer. I am to understand that you are to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in just over a weeks time. As such, after a great deal of consideration I have chosen you to be Head Boy for this academic year. You will find your badge enclosed in this envelope**__-"_

_He looked down to his palm with wide eyes. Sure enough, it was a Head Boy badge – a little golden shield with the four House emblems depicted on it. He scrunched up his nose slightly at the Gryffindor emblem and at the thought turned back to finish reading McGonagalls letter._

"_-__**This position comes with a great deal of responsibility. However given past events**__-" he scoffed at this, that was an interesting way of putting things__**,"-I believe you have learned the difference between what is right and wrong and am confident that you will demonstrate your newfound understanding in your new role as Head Boy.**_

_**After arriving at Kings Cross Station on September 1**__**st**__**, I ask that you go to the Heads Compartment to meet the new Head Girl and discuss your upcoming duties.**_

_**Should you have any questions do be sure to Owl me. However do be assured Mr. Malfoy that I am confident in my decision.**_

_**Sincerely**_**,**

**Minerva McGonagall, **

**Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

"_Well I'll be…" he muttered into the stunned silence of the room. His eyes flitted backwards and forwards between the letter and the badge in his hand. He stood there, his silver eyes boggling out of their sockets until he slumped into his plush desk chair in shock. A million thoughts began running through his brain._

'_This would make Mother and Father happy, this would redeem our family name, this wo- wait a minute…who's Head Girl?" and his eyes immediately began scanning the letter again and again for any further information on who the mystery girl would be. It stated that he'd have to meet her on the train. Did that mean she was a new student or one that he already knew? Well if she was Head Girl that meant she was in her 7__th__ year; seeing as last years 6__th__ year and the returning students like him from last year were being put together, the possibilities about who it could be were endless._

'_I hope it's not that Weaslette, or Bullstrode – oh for the love of all that is Holy please don't let it be Bullstrode!' Draco audibly gasped as a thought flitted through his mind. 'It can't be that Lav-Lav bitch, she's a nutter! And a Gryffindor!...Speaking of Gryffindors it better not be Gran-" at this, Draco's thoughts were interrupted by a loud knocking on his bedroom door and his eyes began to flutter open._

The morning suns rays shone through the arched windows that lined the wall opposite the tall four poster bed, causing beams of light to dance over the two sleeping figures that lay peacefully in it.

They slept soundly under the warm pile of gold silk sheets, her long honey-brown curls splayed out on the overstuffed pillow around her head. He took deep, peaceful breaths through his parted lips, which were buried in her hair, and sighed happily when he felt the warmth of the suns rays over his bare chest.

To anyone gazing at the pair, they would think that they were the very definition of peace, tranquility and happiness - which they were. They had just spent their one month Anniversary together in the best way possible.

Hermione stirred in the warm bed, burying herself further under the silk sheets and even more into the embrace of her boyfriend's strong arms – seeking their comfort for just a few more minutes before she had to get up for the Quidditch Match.

'The Quidditch Match!' she thought with a gasp as she bolted upright in the bed and squinted her eyes at the blinding light as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Draco noted that her warmth was gone from his body and he propped himself up on one elbow, gazing at her through half-shut sleep filled eyes.

"Morning" he greeted, stifling a yawn and propping himself up a bit more. He was desperately trying to shake off the memories of his dream, he didn't want to remember that night…

Hermione stopped running around the bed looking for her blouse at the sound of his voice, she hadn't meant to wake him up. "Morning" she replied with a smile as she reached over to kiss him on the lips before rushing to crouch down to find her blouse.

"What are you looking for Love?" he inquired, moving to the side of the bed and peering over the side to figure out why his girlfriend as crawling around on the floor.

"I'm looking for my blouse! Look at the sun Draco, it's so high in the sky it must be noon already!-" a polished wooden clock appeared on the fireplace mantlepiece and her eyes bulged at it. "-It's 12:15? I'm so late! The Quidditch Match will start in just twenty minutes!" she cried, running her hands through her hair and groaning. Ginny would be so mad!

"The Quidditch Match!" Draco gasped as he too shot out of the bed and began looking for his trousers and shirt. He found them quickly, along with Hermione's blouse and tossed it to her as he wriggled into his trousers and buckled his belt before pulling on his shirt and fixing it. He couldn't really take his eyes off of her as she dressed, and that's when a thought crossed his mind. "You're going to the Quidditch Match too?"

"'Too'? You mean you're going as well?" she asked, that was nice. Maybe they could sit together! Wait, no that was stupid. Hermione was sitting in the Gyrffindor stands, a Slytherin wouldn't be caught dead sitting anywhere near there. Not to mention it would completely expose their relationship.

Draco only blinked at her. "Well of course I am" he stated, what earthly reason would he have for not turning up at something so important? "But why are you going? I thought you didn't like Quidditch" he said, sounding more confused.

"Because I promised Gin- GAH - Look at the time! It's 12:20! Oh I'm so late! I need to get changed, I need to-"

"Sweetheart, breathe" Draco cut her off by pressing a single finger to her lips. She gazed up at him with panic-filled eyes. "You don't need to leave remember? You can get changed here, I'll go. I have to anyway, I'll see you at the Quidditch Match" he said as he kissed her forehead and both her cheeks before kissing her properly and cupping her cheek.

He smiled when he pulled away to find that she was still leaning into the kiss with her eyes still shut. "Thank you for last night, it was amazing" he breathed against her lips before kissing them one last time, caressing her cheek with the pad of his thumb and walking away through the doors quickly.

She opened her eyes in time to see him smile one last time before closing the door. "Thank you" she whispered into the empty room and she found herself smiling as she brought her fingers up to her lips. They were still buzzing from her kiss with Draco and as she turned around and ran to the bathroom in other corner by the fireplace - it had only just materialized a minute ago - she couldn't have been happier.

Hermione rushed out of the castle and trudged through the thick blanket of snow that covered the grounds as she made her way to the Quidditch Pitch.

She had done as Ginny as asked and was kitted out in as much red and gold as she could find. She wore a pair of red leather boots, with a pair of dark denim jeans tucked into them. She wore a red duffel coat with a little hood at the back, which she had charmed to display a Lion's head which roared every once in a while. She had also charmed the large round buttons down the front of her jacket to be gold and had even had the time to put a bit of gold shimmer on her cheeks to compliment her tanned skin and honey brown eyes. Her curly fringe was also pinned out of her face by a single gold hair clasp.

If this didn't make Ginny happy, then she didn't know what would.

The roaring from the stadium filled her ears as she approached it and as she entered a little wooden door at the back of the Pitch and made her way up to where the Gryffindor Quidditch stands always were - more confident than ever that today would be just as perfectly as last night had.

Of course she was wrong and when she reached the top of the stands and took in the sight around her, she completely froze and wanted nothing more than to disappear.

A sea of red and green flooded Hermione's vision and it was staggering to look at. Every Gryffindor and Slytherin in the school must have appeared for today's match and the stands were packed with spectators. Green and silver flags with embellished hissing snakes clashed with the red and gold ones of the Gryffindor students, and sings were scattered around the stadium reminding students that 'No Duelling is to take place in any Quidditch Matches'.

'Oh there's going to be a dueling match alright, wait until I get my hands on that sly little Gin-'

That was when something odd caught her eye. From where she was standing at the front of the Gryffindor stands overlooking the Pitch, she had the perfect view of the Slytherin ones across the stadium. From where she was standing, she could see everybody perfectly despite the wind that was whipping her face and making her eyes water. From where she was standing she could see a flash of long, curly dirty blonde hair and pale skin with rosy cheeks…from where she was standing she could clearly see Lavender Brown in the Slytherin stands giving her a wicked sneer.

'What is she doing over th-'

"Hermione! There you are, we've been looking all over for you!" came a shockingly familiar voice and Hermione gasped as she turned around to look at one of her very best friends.

Apparently old Gryffindor students had come for the match too, and there infront of her stood Harry Potter himself. His dark messy hair swayed in the blustery cold breeze and his glasses were slightly clouded with the amount of body heat from the stands – but even this didn't obscure Hermione's vision of his astonishing Emerald green eyes that glinted in the light from the sun.

"H-Harry? What are you _doing_ here?" she cried incredulously. It probably wasn't the _best_ way to greet a friend you haven't seen in about 4 months, but what else was she supposed to say? This was the _last_ thing she was expecting.

"Didn't think we'd miss this did you? This is the game I look forward to every year!" he declared with a grin as he engulfed his friend into a bone breaking hug.

"We?" she asked confusedly into Harry's shoulder. She tried to turn her head to look around for whoever else was there, but he was holding her so tight that it was a bit hard to move – or even breathe. It was only when he released her – a bit tentatively, perhaps even nervously – and gave her a small smile that he looked over his shoulder and Hermione followed his line of vision. Her jaw dropped when she saw who emerged from the crowd, his flaming hair clashing with the red and gold behind him.

"We" Ron stated, in an equally small voice. He looked as nervous as Harry did, but having said that his eyes still burned with such intensity and they kept flitting around the stadium as though he were looking for someone. As she took him in, standing there casually as though nothing had happened, her jaw clenched and her hand began twitching towards her wand.

"What are you doing here Ronald?" she questioned through gritted teeth.

"I just came to find Lavender," he explained in a rush, raising his hands in surrender and taking a step back. Harry stepped in-between the pair as if to separate them, but Hermione's hand that was reaching for her wand had already relaxed and was instead balled up in a fist by her side.

"Well then go and find her and get out of my face" she fumed, her chocolate eyes smoldering with anger.

"I would if I could, she's not anywhere in the Gryffindor stands. You haven't seen her have you?" he asked, his eyes still scanning the crowd around them. He seemed oblivious to the fact that Hermione was shooting him death glares. How dare he turn up here unexpectedly and then continue to ask her if she'd seen the girl he'd cheated on her with! How dare he! But at the question Hermione remembered seeing Lavender in the Slytherin stands and she turned around to look for her. The quicker he found that bitch and got out of her sight, the quicker she'd start to cheer up.

Her eyes searched the Slytherin stands for a flash of indisputable dirty blonde hair, those calculating blue eyes, that wicked sneer…but she couldn't see anything.

"What is it Hermione?" Harry asked, placing a concerning hand lightly on her shoulder at her confused and troubled expression.

Hermione's frown only deepened and her forehead wrinkled because of it, this didn't make sense.

"I swear I just saw her over in the Sl-"

"Saw who?" asked an overly sickly-sweet voice and everyone turned to find Lavender standing behind Ron.

Like everyone else, her hair was blowing around her face which was flushed with the cold. But unlike everyone else, she wore the nastiest smirk Hermione could ever remember seeing.

It was cold and calculating yet filled with such a preying emotion that it caused the hairs on the back of Hermione's neck to stand on end. Lavender seemed to notice the harsh leer she was giving Hermione and instantly wiped it off her face.

"What's wrong?" she asked again. With Hermione's parents both being dentists, she knew a thing or two about Cavities. And if Lavender kept talking the way she was, she was definitely going to get a few. It sounded so – so _forced_!

"Where were you?" Ron asked, draping a protective arm around her waist and pulling her close against his side.

Hermione didn't fail to notice the way Lavenders nose wrinkled in disgust at his closeness or how she quickly maneuvered her way out of his arms to stand by his side and inch her way away. And Hermione had to admit it was comical to watch the reaction on his face. Call her mean – but hey, he _did_ cheat on her.

"I just got here," she replied in a nonchalant tone of voice.

"No you didn't, you we-"

A roar from the crowd cut Hermione off mid-accusation and she was pushed to the front of the stands as the Gryffindors surged forward. Hermione wandered what all the commotion was, until she saw the locker room doors open, and at that moment she wished she were anywhere but there.

The Gryffindors flew out of the small opening as a group before splitting into two groups, both spiraling around the goal posts before going in opposite directions around the pitch and high-fiving each other as they passed one another and came together in the centre.

When Ginny passed by she made a point of looking over at the Gryffindor stands, smirking when she caught sight of Hermione standing by Harry, Ron and Lavender in the sea of red and gold. In response Hermione shot her the dirtiest, most murderous glare she could muster despite the fact she wanted to scream and cry angry tears until she had none left.

But when the Slytherin doors flew open, and a beautiful head of silken blonde hair flashed in the suns light before soaring into the air and leading his team in a united V-formation around the stadium, her angry tears changed from being focused on Ginny to being directed at herself.

Draco hadn't been looking forward to this match at all.

It wasn't that he didn't enjoy kicking Gryffindors arse or anything – he always loved to wipe the smirk right off of that Weaslette's face – it was more to do with the fact that his brain was anywhere but on Quidditch right now.

Since he'd heard Hermione say that she was going to the Quidditch match this morning, he knew she'd been tricked into it by somebody. But when he caught a glimpse of unmistakable honey brown curls blowing in the wind, it still angered him and twisted a painful knot in his stomach to see her standing amongst the students decked out in red and gold. Hell, _she_ was even kitted out in Gryffindor colours!

He gave an exasperated groan and turned in the air before diving with the rest of his team to hover above the ground in a circle around Madame Hooch.

Somebody had set Hermione up. First it was with the pictures, and even though Draco hadn't given it much thought at the time it had started bugging him more and more now. Now it was the Weaslette sending her to the Quidditch match and tricking her into supporting Gryffindor. He knew it hadn't been her that had sent the pictures, and as much as he wanted to believe it was the Weaslette doing her best to break the pair up, Draco got the feeling this was much bigger than just a petty falling out between two best friends over a boy.

No, this was something much more important and as he drowned out Madame Hooch going through her regular spiel about conduct, he couldn't help but think it was related to his dream that he'd had the night before. The dream that took him back to that night, the night his entire life had changed a-

"Mr. Malfoy!" he heard his name called and his head snapped down to meet Madame Hooch's. His team mates were giving him sneering looks – everyone knew the Captain had been distracted lately, and he didn't fail to notice them either.

"Yes?" he asked curtly, ignoring the side-ways glances and snooty stares they were sending his way. He couldn't think about this now. As much as the guilt inside him was pleading with him to tell Hermione, to do _something_, now was not the time.

"Are you ready?" she asked again, growing more irritated. She hated having to repeat herself.

Draco caught Ginny's glaring eyes directly opposite him in the circle.

"Scared Malfoy?" she mouthed to him, casting a quick glance to the right and towards the Gryffindor stands. Draco didn't have to follow her gaze to know what she was referring to. Who ever was trying to break him and Hermione up, try as they might, weren't going to succeed. Not as long as he had a say in it anyway.

"You wish," he mouthed back and wore his famous Malfoy smirk as Ginny's sneer was wiped off of her face at his confidence. "I'm ready," he said determinedly to Madame Hooch who nodded once and gave all players a warning stare before throwing the Quaffle into the air with one hand and releasing the Snitch from her wand with the other.

This was perfect: the look on that idiot's face as he flew past the Gryffindor stands and saw that little Mudblood bitch sitting there next to Saint Potter and Weasel!

She couldn't have asked for things to be going better, but just as the Mudblood was about to turn and leave – tears streaming down her cheeks of course – Saint Potter caught her arm and turned her back around.

"Hermione? What's wrong?" he asked, his voice full of so much concern. Hermione couldn't understand why she saw Lavender wrinkle her nose in disgust at the caring tone to his voice but quite frankly that was the least of her worries right now. She had to get as far away from here as possible.

"Nothing I- I'm just cold that's all," she lied and tried to cover her face with her mass of windswept curls so that she could wipe her eyes again.

"Oh here, take my scarf," Harry offered and chivalrously removed his scarf and wrapped it around Hermione's neck before tucking it into the front of her jacket.

"Harry – you really don't have to-" Hermione tried to object but Harry promptly silenced her with an eye roll and began leading her back to an empty seat in the front row next to a rather preoccupied Ron – the Quaffle had just been released – and a leering Lavender.

"Hermione, you can't miss the most exciting game of the Season," Harry lectured her and once she was sat down, he transfigured a checked blanket for her to put over her legs.

"Oh yes, do stay!" begged Lavender in a voice that was much too pleading and sickly sweet for Hermione's liking.

As much as Hermione wanted to be anywhere, literally _anywhere_ but here, there was no use in denying it. Unless she wanted to openly Confund the three of them and make a quick get-away there was nothing she could do! She was stuck here. Stuck in the trick she so stupidly walked into.

She slumped into her seat beside Harry with a defeated groan and pinched the bridge of her nose as silent tears trickled down her cheeks. All the while she was completely oblivious to the triumphant look in Lavenders eyes.

This was going better than she had hoped it would, and as the imposter sat amongst the three friends she thought back over the events from last night – reveling in how her latest scheme was playing out perfectly.

_Pansy Parkinson leaned her head against her arm as she looked out of one of the windows in an empty Transfiguration classroom. The snow was falling heavily outside, so thick in fact, that she could barely see the thick cluster of Oak trees down by the Black Lake!_

_She shivered involuntarily and wrapped her arms around herself as she rubbed her arms to rid them of the goose bumps that had risen on her pale skin._

_Where was that good-for-nothing little bitch? She'd been waiting for Brown for over fifteen minutes to discuss their plans, and still she hadn't shown up._

_Pansy huffed irritably and kicked a stack of books over with the heel of her stiletto boot. She hated being kept waiting. A strand of dark hair slipped in front of her face and she tossed it back over her shoulder and made to turn on her heel to leave when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye._

_A shadow?...__**Two**__ shadows? On a- a broomstick? Who would possibly be loopy enough to be flying in this weather? Not that Pansy was one to say anything mind you, she didn't know the first thing about flying._

_She was intrigued though as to who was flying so late at night in weather like this – perhaps it could make for good gossip? – so she stepped back to the window and peered out, doing her best to make out the figures that were taking off high into the sky a-_

"_Spying are we?" somebody asked from behind Pansy, making her jump and spin around quickly. She clutched her heart and didn't realize she'd been breathing quick, panicked breaths – one could hardly blame her for being scared after that Stremox lesson today – and growled when she saw who it was._

"_Damn it Skeeter! You scared me shitless!" Pansy gasped as she composed herself and fixed her hair. Rita only sneered at her in response and folded her arms across her chest authoritatively. Pansy of course didn't like this, and felt the need to put Rita back in her place. "What do you want? I didn't summon you here," she demanded to know in a rather brash tone of voice._

_Rita's sneer faded before she pushed herself off of the desk she was leaning against and took a small step forward. The green silk of her jacket and matching pencil skirt glinted in the moonlight and Pansy noted that a bit of her red lipstick had smudged on her front teeth from all the sneering she'd been doing._

"_I just thought I ought to let you know that your little pet has been sneaking off to see the Mudblood," Rita explained casually as she inspected her blood-red point nails._

_Pansy's eyes widened before turning into thin slits and her green eyes flashed menacingly. Her jaw clenched before she started grinding her teeth together and Rita was actually taken-aback by the sudden change in her. This girl could flip like a switch!_

"_That two-faced cow was speaking to Granger?" she asked slowly through gritted teeth, to which Rita responded by nodded cautiously. "When?" she demanded to know._

"_Not five minutes ago," the beetle-like woman replied tentatively. She hadn't expected her to be __**this**__ ticked off about it._

"_Saying what?" she asked again, this time turning to look out of the window and digging her nails into the window sill as a release for her anger._

"_Warning her. About-" should she say it? Oh what the Hell, she was getting paid – maybe there'd be a bonus for her for handing over the little snitch, "-About your plans."_

_At this Pansy's anger peaked to such a level that the magic coursing through her veins began shaking the glass in the window and the flickering oil lanterns around the room were blown out in unison. Rita gulped, trying to choose the right words to say._

"_Miss Parkinson?" she asked tentatively. The only response Rita received was the glass in the window stopped shaking. Then a cruel, menacing chuckle began to resound from Pansy's throat, gradually growing louder until she threw her head back and cackled. Rita only blinked at her. Had she gone mental?_

_Pansy couldn't believe how stupid that little bitch was to think she could get away with double-crossing her like this. She wanted to play this game? The Pansy would play it too. But didn't her mother ever teach her: Don't play games with a bitch that could play them better? Oh and Pansy knew just how to play this game and get her revenge, and there was absolutely nothing that little cow could do about it. _

_She began going over plans in her head as to how to get her payback – each one causing her to cackle harder at the sheer wickedness of each one. That was until the perfect idea sprung to mind, and her laughing stopped immediately. It would be tricky yes, but luckily she knew just the person to manipulate to make sure she got what she wanted. _

_She spun on her heel quickly and stared Rita straight in the eyes. _

"_Miss Parkinson? Are you alright?" Rita asked in a small voice. Only moments ago the girl had been laughing her twisted little head off about something that was seemingly hilarious! Now she was sneering so deviously- so maliciously, that it was actually scary to look at._

"_Oh I'm perfectly fine," Pansy replied in a low voice as another throaty chuckle made it's way past her lips, "Yes I'm fine. But that two-timing little slut won't be. Bring her here. Now," and with a snap of her well-manicured fingers Rita nodded and phased into her beetle form before scurrying from the room._

_Pansy stood there and sniggered to herself. Oh this was going to be good._

The first thing Lavender remembered waking up was the pain. Her limbs ached and for some reason her neck didn't seem willing to move – ouch! – scratch that, it moved. Just not without a lot of pain.

The next thing was the darkness. She had to actually rub her eyes once she opened them to make sure she wasn't still asleep. The room she was in was pitch dark, but if she stretched out her sore legs, then they came into contact with a hard stone wall. She patted her robes and skirt pocket for her wand, but couldn't find it. Panic set into every bone in her body – where was her wand?

She managed to push herself onto her hands and knees and began inching forward while searching for her wand with her hands. The ground was littered with what felt like parchment and shards of wood, and it was only when her fingertips brushed something long and smooth that she sighed in relief and grasped it firmly before whispering "Lumos."

She could do nothing but gasp. How had she ended up in an old store room cupboard? The walls were lined with shelves, each one containing glass jars that were so grimy she couldn't even see what was in them. The air was dusty and she coughed as she knocked over a stack of old books and a cloud of dust enveloped her. She waved her hand in front of her face to clear the air and when her vision focused again she caught sight of a person in the corner, staring at her from out of the gloom.

To say she got a fright was an understatement and she shot right back to the opposing wall – her wand clutched tightly in her right hand ready to fight.

"Who's there? What do you want?" she asked, and it was only when she took a tentative step forward that she noticed the person mimicked her movements exactly. She squinted her eyes to make out who it was, and gasped again when she realized it was her – it was only a mirror. She sighed again in relief and slumped backwards before catching a glimpse of herself and gaping at her reflection. She was a ruddy mess.

No, seriously, she was. Her dirty blonde curls were matted with a mixture of dirt and grime – probably from lying on that dirty floor - and her face had dirt marks on it too. She was still wearing her clothes from earlier that day – wait, was it even the same day? She brought a hand up to her head to try and calm down the throbbing head ache she was feeling and numb her groggyness. How had she ended up like this? Her forehead furrowed into a frown as she thought hard – why was everything so blurry? Her body convulsed in a shudder at the memory of her Care of Magical Creatures lesson and she moved on swiftly to the next memory: talking to Granger. Yes, she remembered that, and smiled to herself at remembering how proud she was of herself for warning her. She had to be warned. Then what? She started walking back to Gryffindor Tower...when…

"Of course!" she gasped. She remembered walking down one of the corridors off the seventh hall corridor, when she'd heard something scurrying the shadows. Still scared from her Stremox lesson, she had started walking faster – but the sound only grew louder…until someone had stepped out of the shadows and grabbed her.

"_You know what the funny thing about common sense is Brown? It's actually not that common, especially when it comes to liars like yourself," Pansy sneered from the gloom as Lavender was shoved into one of the wooden chairs in the Transfirguration class room. It took a second for her eyes to adjust to the darkness but when she saw it was Parkinson her blood ran cold. "What do you have to say to this Skeeter?" Pansy asked to someone behind Lavender, and when she turned she was shocked to see Rita Skeeter leaning against one of the desks, leering at her._

_She was about to open her mouth to say something when Pansy cut her off with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Get lost before I report you to Filch, I've had enough of you for one night," Pansy snapped and with a flick of her wand the classroom door slammed open as a sign for Rita to leave. She didn't need to be told twice and phased into her Animagus form before scurrying at light speed from the room._

_When it was just the two of them, Pansy flicked the door closed again with her wand and a deafening silence engulfed them. The tension between the pair hung thick and heavy in the air, their eyes locked on eachothers. Pansy's continued to glint and flash menacingly as she circled Lavender slowly, who's eyes smoldered with anger as she glared at the back of Pansys head._

"_What's this about Parkinson? Why have you brought me here?" _

"_Oh I'm sorry, did you have some prior engagement? Perhaps a 'Backstabbing Bitch' convention you had to go to?" Pansy retorted sarcastically, "Were you forgetting that we had a meeting tonight?"_

_Lavender gulped. In truth after speaking to Hermione, Lavender had no intention of being a part of anymore of these ridiculous schemes. Who Granger saw was none of Lavender's business, and quite frankly she didn't see the reason in keeping up this vendetta anymore. The pair were even now. Hermione had been a bitch to Lavender – Lavender had been a bitch back by sending the photos. Hermione had saved Lavender, Lavender had saved her…technically. She was smart right? Surely she'd figure out what Lavender was trying to say and watch her back._

"_No," she lied._

"_BULLSHIT!" Pansy yelled as she wheeled around and before Lavender could blink, Pansy's pug-face was inches away from hers – right in her personal space – with her wand aimed at Lavenders throat. "You double-crossed me tonight! Went behind my back to her! Why?"_

_A frightened squeak escaped Lavender's trembling lips at the sudden change in Pansy's behaviour, but she didn't let her fear get the better of her. She was a Gryffindor for Merlin's sake!_

"_Look, I'm not going to say I'm sorry because I'm not! I don't want to do this anymore! I won't tell her anymore, and it won't happen again – but if you don't let me go now I swear I-"_

"_You'll what Brown? I'm not concerned about you running off and telling her anymore – because I have a way of guaranteeing you won't. Ever again."_

"_Wanna bet?" Lavender challenged._

"_Oh I don't think any bets will be necessary. I've never heard of anyone that's lived after going against an Unbreakable Vow. Have you?" she asked innocently, and smirked at the shock that settled onto Lavenders face._

"_A-An Unbreakble Vow?"_

"_That's right, you're going to make one Brown. Oh trust me you will. The consequences for not doing so would be…severe," she leered at her, and was proud to see her strong front falter for just a second._

_Lavender had no idea what Pansy was up to, but anything involving Pansy Parkinson was never good. She knew it was stupid to get involved with her in the first place, and right now she was willing to do or say anything just to get away from her._

"_The terms?" she asked, trying to sound authoritative and act like she had the Upper Hand, when really she was playing right into Pansy's hands._

"_The terms are quite simple actually. You don't warn or tell Hermione anything, and in exchange I won't make your life a living Hell," Pansy said with a shrug of her shoulders, but still keeping her devious smirk plastered on her face_

_Lavender watched Pansy carefully…why did she get the feeling that it wasn't that simple? But how could it not be? An Unbreakable Vow is just that – Unbreakable. Nobody who's ever gone against the terms has ever lived to tell the tale! So surely there was no way for Pansy to double-cross her with this…right? And besides, being able to lead a life without Pansy pulling crap like this every other second and making her her bitch? That sounds devine._

"_I suppose that doesn't sound too bad…" Lavender reasoned, and didn't fail to notice how Pansy's face lit up in the most sinister way before she suppressed her toothy grin and held out her hand for Lavender to take. She did so, slowly, but when her hand came into contact with Pansy's, the girl gripped it hard in a vice-like grip and brought her right hand up to circle over their joined ones._

"_Do you, Lavender Brown, swear not breathe a word about our plans or anything we discuss to Hermione Granger, or divulge anything you may know to anyone?"_

"_I do."_

"_And in return, I Pansy Parkinson will not come up with any more plots to adversely affect your well-being."_

_The glowing tendrils that had been encircling the girls clasped hands faded away when Pansy finished speaking. They left faded marks on the skin they had been floating over moments ago._

_Pansy couldn't feel prouder of herself than right then, but determined to see her plan through, she waved her wand and out of no-where a plate of Cauldron Cakes appeared before them._

"_A cake to celebrate?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice, and Lavender eyed her curiously. She wanted nothing more than just to leg it out of the room and be as far away from her as possible, and as much as something was screaming at her, pleading with her, to not take one of those cakes, she reached for one and took it anyway. There was nothing she could do right? They'd made the Unbreakable Vow!_

"_Thanks I guess?" Lavender asked as eyed the small cake in her hand._

"_No problem, go on, take a bite," Pansy beckoned and reached for one herself. Lavender waited until Pansy was holding hers and was bringing it to her mouth before sinking her teeth into her own and taking a bite._

_It was then that things changed, and Lavender wished oh so badly that she'd listened to her instincts._

_Something was mixed into the cake – it wasn't just the usual warm sponge or the chocolate sprinkles that Lavender could taste, but something…chemically?_

_That's when something else occurred to her: Pansy had changed the terms of agreement: "I Pansy Parkinson will not come up with any more plots to adversely affect your well-being." What the hell did that mea- Oh no, she was starting to go light-headed._

"_H-How?" she asked in a daze as her eyelids began to droop. But just as she asked the question, the answer occurred to her. Pansy had said she won't "come up with anymore plots," that didn't already mean she couldn't put the existing plots she had into action! She stumbled back into a nearby desk and leaned against it for support. She didn't know what Pansy had done to her, but she knew she had to get as far away as possible. She began scrambling back towards the door, tripping every few steps as her legs became clumsier with each passing second. _

_It was then that she became aware of a presence following her and she looked over her shoulder to see Pansy chuckling darkly and taking a menacing step towards her._

"_NO!" she screamed and threw the door open before trying to run down the dark and abandoned corridor._

_It felt as though Lavender were falling asleep, into one of her nightmares. Everything was moving in slow motion. She was trying to run, trying to reach the light at the end of the corridor that would take her to the Grand Staircase – but everytime she looked over her shoulder, Pansy was always a few steps behind. She wasn't even running to keep up with Lavender, she knew she'd catch her, and that only scared Lavender more._

_Suddenly, her legs collapsed under her and she fell forward. She tried to move her arms – her legs – something! But nothing! Her eyelids were drooping again, and it was impossible to fight it._

_The last thing she remembered was seeing a pair of black leather boots stop in front of her, before kicking her in the stomach and rolling her onto her back. It was then that Pansy crouched down in front of her, her pug-like face sneering at her the whole time._

"_Funny, the effect a simple Sleeping Draught will do," were the last words Lavender heard before sleep claimed her and she drifted into unconsciousness._

_Pansy followed Lavender down the corridor, laughing at her pitiful attempt to escape. When the Sleeping Draught Pansy had managed to sneak from Madame Pomfrey's supply cabinet kicked in, and Lavender fell to the ground, Pansy took a moment to revel in her triumph. Honestly – how thick could you get?_

_It was then that she was aware of somebody watching her, and she wheeled around to find Rita Skeeter gaping at the unconscious girl on the floor and Pansy's sneering face._

"_Back again Skeeter?" Pansy asked casually, as though there wasn't a passed out girl lying behind her._

"_I-I forgot my purse and- What have you done?" _

"_I've taught her a lesson that's what I've done. She should know better than to mess with me, she had it coming," she justified and wrinkled her nose in disgust as she bent down to pull out a few of her straggly, dirty blonde hairs. "I want you to hide her – there's a storage cupboard in the Dungeons that would be perfect for the likes of her. I filled that thing with enough Sleeping Draught to knock her out until about 5pm tomorrow, so we shouldn't be hearing from her anytime soon," she explained as she stepped over Lavender and made her way down the corridor towards the Grand Staircase._

"_What are you going to do?" Rita asked, more out of curiousity than anything else. Although she hadn't signed up for this, and she was forced to do what this brat told her to do or else she'd be handed over to the Ministry, she was fascinated at what made this girl tick!_

_Pansy stopped walking, and without realizing it her hands had balled up into fists at her side. "They've pushed my nuclear button. Every single one of them-" she explained, remembering how Granger's charm in the Stremox lesson had been Draco, the adoring look he'd given her, the way Brown had double-crossed her…it was all too much, "- Brown will get what's coming to her and so will Granger and Draco. The pictures didn't work, but I've got the perfect plan to split them apart for good," and with that she turn the corner at the end of the Corridor and disappeared down the Grand Staircase._

'_Well isn't this just the shittiest way to spend a Friday night?' Theodore Nott thought to himself. He'd managed to earn himself a week's detention that day (he didn't see what was so wrong in convincing a few first years to try and build a tree house in the Whomping Willow!), and had been given the task of stirring Professor Slughorn's batch of Potions._

_In all honesty, Theodore admitted to himself that he'd rather endure about fifty of Trelawney's wappy Divination lectures than be doing this. Heck, he'd even settle for writing a million lines! Anything could be more exciting than this!_

_It was then that he heard the door to Slughorn's classroom burst open. He placed down the recipe book in his hand and grabbed his wand before crossing the small supplies room and creaking the door open slightly to see who was there._

_His jaw practically hit off of the floor when he saw who it was. _

"_Pansy?" he asked disbelievingly. What was she doing sauntering through the aisles of the classroom towards him? As surprised as he was he realized he didn't really care, she looked sinfully good._

"_Hi Theo," she practically purred his name. She pressed her palm flat against his chest and began pushing him backwards until his legs came into contact with one of the desks. _

"_H-Hi Pansy," he stuttered. What was going on? Had he finally worn her down? Well it was about bloody time, he'd only been trying to ask her out for about a year._

"_Oh Theo, no need to be nervous," she giggled flirtatiously as she pushed some his hair back out of his eyes and leaned into him, "I only came to ask a favour."_

_The way she was leaning against him caused her hair to flick into his face with each little breeze that blew through the open classroom door and the smell was intoxicating, clouding his mind and arousing his senses. _

_That's when he realized what she'd said. "A favour?" he asked and gave a little start when he felt her fingertips drawing patterns on his biceps through the fabric of his school shirt._

"_Yes, that is if you don't mind," she said as she batted her dark eyelashes at him and he swooned under the intensity of her Jade-green eyes._

"_Anything, anything for you," he breathed and she found that she actually liked the way his breath caressed her skin._

'_Focus Pansy, you need to get this!' she implored herself, and mentally shook herself before continuing._

"_Well I know that you're in charge of stirring Mr. Slughorns Potions and looking after them…"_

"_Ye…" he beckoned, curious as to where she was going with this._

"_And I'm pretty sure you'd have access to all of them right?"_

"_Ye…" he said again, urging for her to continue._

"_Well I was just wondering if you could get me some Polyjuice Potion?"_

_Theodore only blinked at her before bursting out laughing. "BAHAHA! Good one Pans, no seriously you almost had me for a second-" he chortled, but then he caught the way she pouted at him and he just gaped at her. "-Wait…you're serious?"_

"_Well of course silly, why wouldn't I be?"_

"_It's just that – well I- Pansy what do you want Polyjuice Potion for?" _

"_It doesn't matter, please?" she begged leaning into him more stroking his shoulder with one hand and continuing her soothing patterns with the other. It was becoming really hard for Theo to think now. But really there shouldn't be anything to think about right? The girl he liked was asking him for something that he could easily give her, fair enough he'd be screwed if Sluggy found out but the man was incredibly dim at the best of times. He wasn't likely to find out right? And anyways, he'd be stupid to disappoint her and blow his chance wouldn't he?_

"_Fine, I'll do it-"_

"_-Oh Theo I knew I could count on you!" she gushed and hugged him tightly around the waist._

"_-But you have to do something for me," he propositioned and she pulled away to look at him questioningly._

_She hadn't been expecting this – he wasn't known for being the fastest broom in the shed – so this took her by surprise. But if he wanted something in exchange for what she needed then so be it._

"_What do you want?" she asked, resuming her stroking and eyelash batting._

"_Go to the Quidditch Game with me?" he asked hopefully._

_Well this completely dumfounded her. She certainly hadn't been expecting that._

"_L-Like a date?" she practically spat the word but he didn't seem to notice, he was too nervous waiting for her answer._

"_Not if you don't want it to be – but err…ye sort of," he finished by scratching his head and running his fingers through his messy dark hair. He did that when he was nervous._

_She smirked inwardly to herself. This was really all too easy. Fine – let the sucker believe they were going on a date, one things for sure, she most certainly wouldn't be there._

"_Sure, I'd love to," she smiled at him and he sighed in response before grinning at her._

"_Brilliant, wait here and I'll be right back," he told her and gave her a quick hug before pushing himself off of the desk and disappearing into the small side room filled with bubbling potions._

_Even after he was gone Pansy's body was still buzzing. And it was only a hug!_

'_UGH! Snap out of it Pansy! Bloody Hell you're starting to go all mushy and gooey! But why am I fe-'_

"_Here you go," he said as he came up behind her and handed her the potion. She jumped as her mental rambling was interrupted and took the disgusting looking goo in the vial from him._

_When their skin came into contact with eachother, she jumped again but not because she'd gotten a fright. She was disgusted- actually more like ashamed- to admit to herself that the strangest feeling arose in the pit of her stomach…is this what people called…BUTTERFLIES? Nonsense! _

"_So do you want to meet a-"_

"_Thanks Theo gotta go!" she called over her shoulder as she bolted from the room and slammed the door behind her._

_Theo felt like he'd hit a wall. A very confused brick wall. Had he said something wrong or done something maybe? _

'_Oh well, it doesn't matter' he smiled to himself, excitement starting to course through his veins. 'I'm going on a date with Pansy Parkinson!' he gushed and for the first time in months, he had a newfound spring in his step as he walked back to the small Supplies room._

_Pansy slumped back against the stone wall and sighed with relief. She had no idea what that was she felt in there with Theo, but as she looked down at the Vial of sludge-like substance in her hands she realized she really didn't care. It was true what she'd said to Skeeter._

_She had the perfect plan to split that pair up. One thing was for sure anyway: They may have managed to survive this Snakes plans until now, but they couldn't survive being thrown into an angry Lions Den._

"Ow Hermione – I think you're cutting off the circulation in my hand!" Harry grunted through clenched teeth. Pansy was shaken out of her memories by this and leaned forward in her seat to look to the left. There was no suppressing her smile.

Granger was indeed cutting off the circulation in Saint Potter's hand as she held on to it as hard as she could. In that moment Pansy had never been so proud of herself. This was the perfect form of torture for the Mudblood that she loved to hate so much – watching two of the people that she felt closest to battle it out on the Quidditch Pitch.

And Draco and Ginny were _definitely_ battling it out. Several times Ginny had taken the Beater's Bat out off of her teammate only to lob an angry Bludger at Draco's head, and several times had Granger almost passed out from holding her breath. Each time Draco had only dodged it and parried Ginny's attack by flying alongside her and unleashing a verbal onslaught of insults at her. Of course this only resulted in Ginny lashing out and kicking his broom – something that caused Gryffindor several Fouls an-

"ANOTHER FOUL TO GRYFFINDOR! PENALTY SHOT FOR SLYTHERIN! MISS WEASLEY! IF YOU CANNOT CONTROL YOURSELF I WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO REMOVE YOU FROM THE GAME!" Madame Hooch's voice rang out through the pitch and Ginny hovered in the air and punched the wall of a nearby stand while releasing an angry cry.

"Temper, temper," someone tutted from not too far away and Ginny whipped her head around to find a sneering Malfoy leering at her.

"Shove off Malfoy!" she warned and out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of the Slytherin team flying in a V-formation towards the Gryffindor goal hoops.

As good as the Gryffindor Chasers were, they were no match for the Slytherins who swarmed around them, disorientating them and making it easy for Blaize Zabini to slip past and hurl the Quaffle through the far right Goal Hoop.

"Oh look another ten points to Slytherin! Isn't this exciting?" came Luna's dreamy voice from the Commentator's box. "If I'm not mistaken Slytherin is still in the lead with One Hundred and Seventy points and Gryffindor with- OH dear, sorry Ginny! Gryffindor only has twenty! Oh isn't that a pity-"

"Miss Lovegood! As Commentator you are supposed to remain impartial!" McGonagall reminded Luna for the millionth time.

"Oh yes sorry Professor, well as I was saying Slytherin now stands with One Hundred and Seventy points and Gryffindor wi- OH look at that cloud, it looks just like a rabbit!"

"FUCK!" Ginny bellowed, the howling wind drowning out her angered cry as she turned around and began repeatedly kicking the nearby Goal Hoop.

She knew that the only chance of this turning out anywhere near the way she wanted it to was if she caught the Snitch. Something that was proving to be easier said than done in this weather. The snow was coming down faster and was caking her leather goggles with snowflakes.

"Don't worry Weasel! Maybe I'll invite you to the after party when Slytherin win!" Draco sneered before catching a flicker of gold out of the corner of his eye and taking off at full speed to the other side of the Pitch in pursuit of the Snitch.

She wasn't sure what it was that happened, but something inside Ginny snapped. Maybe it was the smug look in his preying eyes, that smirk that seemed to be plastered to his face, or his boasting tone, but she disregarded the many warnings she'd been given and as the Gryffindor Beater flew past, she extended her arm with such lightning fast speed and grabbed his Beater's Bat that he hadn't realized it was missing until a full minute later.

With eyes that were practically on fire with anger she locked sight on an oncoming Bludger and took aim at Malfoys head.

The fighting between the pair hadn't gone unnoticed by the people in the stands, least of all Hermione.

It broke her heart to see them fighting and after Slytherin scored that last goal she'd seen the expression on Ginny's face and she knew that underneath the typical Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry that she was the cause of all of Ginny's anger. And she hated it.

"I can't do this anymore!" she sobbed and stood up in one swift motion, knocking the blanket off her knees and trying to push through the throng of students.

"Hermione! Wait! What's going on? Why are y- OH GINNY NO!" bellowed Harry, his eyes locked on something behind Hermione. A mix of emotions passed through Harry's eyes; anger, dissapointment, shock, but most of all it was fear and horror. His eyes bulged and Hermione became frightened by the intensity of them. She didn't want to turn around and see what was happening, but when a chorus of gasps and screams erupted from the Slytherin stands she felt the need to. What if something had happened to Draco?

And indeed, something was happening to Draco. His eyes were locked on the Snitch that twisted and spiraled through the air in front of him. He was so close to catching it, yet so far away. He wasn't sure if the Weaslette was on his tail or not, but she wouldn't be able to catch up anyway. Not on that shitty broom at least.

Hermione watched in complete horror, he was absolutely oblivious to the Bludger that was heading towards his head and even more oblivious to the fact that it was only a few feet away. She felt so helpless. She wanted to do something! Anything! She couldn't hex the Bludger. She couldn't run onto the Pitch and stop it.

But she knew one thing she could do. The only thing. She called his name.

"DRACO!"

Somehow above the howling wind and the blizzard, he heard her frightened cry and it registered that he'd never heard her so terrified before. What was wrong? He stopped flying to hover and turned his head when –SMACK.

A Bludger collided with his shoulder, so powerfully that it knocked him off his broom and he fell twenty feet onto the pile of snow beneath.

Silence engulfed the stadium, and for a second Draco wondered if he'd been knocked out. That was before he began to feel things. He felt the icy blanket of snow beneath him, and he knew it should have made him shiver. But it didn't, the fire that was spreading through his left shoulder was too strong. It started out as small, confined to only a small bit of his shoulder, but quickly the pain began to spread until his left arm was throbbing and it felt as though he had an immense pressure on his chest.

Hermione watched, completely frozen. He was lying on the ground as still as a statue, unmoving and showing no emotion on his perfect face. Was he even conscious?

Anyone else may have missed it, but not Hermione, her chocolate-brown eyes were locked so intently on him that she caught every little movement he made in the following seconds and she released a relieved sigh as she slumped back into the chair behind her.

"Oh thank Merlin," she breathed, and watched as he scrunched up his eyes in pain and clenched his jaw before forcing his eyes open and pushing himself into a sitting position.

As much as his shoulder protested, he wouldn't lie still. He had to catch that Snitch. He didn't need three guesses to know who had sent that Bludger at him, and if catching this Snitch was the only way he could fight back and show her that _nothing_ she could do would stop him – then he'd fucking do it.

He heard the sound of wind whistling close by and he recognized it as someone on a broomstick stopping a few feet away. He looked up and sure enough, the Weaslette was hovering close by, a smirk that could rival his gracing her face.

A flutter of wings, a flicker of gold and a few seconds later, both of them had turned their heads and their eyes were locked on the Golden Snitch. It was circling the Slytherin Goal Hoops not too far away and both Seekers looked back at one another, an unspoken challenge hanging in the tense air between them.

"Lets finish this!" he cried and grabbed his broomstick with the arm that wasn't thriving in pain before kicking off from the ground and flying towards his goal.

Lavender hurried through the Hogwarts corridors. She ignored the weird looks people were giving her for her appearance – her face was still dirty from lying on that disgusting stone floor all night and her hair was tangled and sticking out at odd angles.

She had _no_ idea how Parkinson had managed to get around the conditions laid down by the Vow. How had she not dropped dead after pulling that stunt last night?

Although Lavender was not exactly the Queen of Potions she didn't need to be told that it was a Sleeping Draught she'd been given. She'd slept soundly all night, something that had bothered her to begin with – what had she missed? What was Pansy's plan? – but now it served her well.

Her new burst of energy was just what she needed to sprint through the ancient school and throw open the heavy wooden doors to the grounds. She breathed in the fresh air – Merlin, how good it felt in her lungs after breathing in that stale air all night. She closed her eyes and just stood there, smiling to herself for a few minutes, letting the cold air ruffle her hair and encircle her bare legs.

She heard something fluttering and flapping in the wind, but she didn't pay attention to it, she was enjoying this too much. That was until something landed on her face and she ripped it off.

Her eyes shot open, ablaze with anger. What had spoiled her relaxing moment? She looked down at her hands and her breath caught in her throat. It was a Gryffindor Quidditch team Celebratory flag.

It was big and red, with gold tassels and a Lions head roaring in the centre. She knew these flags well, they were always used whenever Gryffindor won a match and there was an abundance of them in the Common room during the after parties. That's when a thought occurred to her – could Gryffindor have won? Her eyes drifted upwards to the sky, and she ran forward and turned around to get a better look at the castle.

Even from hundreds of feet below, she could see the flashing strobe lights and disco ball that were shining through the windows of Gryffindor Tower.

In the distance she could see a flurry of red and gold from the Quidditch Stadium where the Gryffindor flags had been risen.

So they had won the match today – well that's a bummer, she'd been hoping to watch that match today with her Won-Wo-

How could she forget? Ron was here today! Especially to see her! That's when she remembered something else, before sleep claimed her the night before, she'd been vaguely aware of something plucking hairs from her head…why would Parkinson be plucking some of her hairs?

She had no clue what Parkinson's game was, but she was going to find out. This year, Sixth and Seventh Years had been given the opportunity to go out to Hogsmeade on some Friday and Saturday nights. She remembered Seamus mentioning something about an after party at the Three-Broomsticks the day before, and so she took off running.

The sky was darkening and goosebumps formed on her bare legs from the snow that went up to her knees, but she pressed on. If Parkinson was up to something, she had to do something to stop it. She wouldn't let Pansy mess up her life more than she already had.

"Well isn't this just the best thing ever? The four of us sitting here all celebrating Gryffindor's latest success? What do you think about it Hermione?" Pansy asked Hermione in the perkiest voice she could put on.

Thankfully nobody had seen through her Lavender disguise yet, but Pansy couldn't wait until she could stop sneaking sips of her Polyjuice Potion and be done with this whole charade. She was sick of acting all goody-goody and cutesy. If she kept this up this sickly sweet act for much longer she might just be puking rainbows.

Hermione had held her breath the entire time they were chasing the Snitch. In her heart she knew she wanted Draco to catch it, it would be so wonderful if he caught it even with what looked like a broken shoulder. But the logical part of her brain screamed at her that Ginny should catch it, that it would settle whatever petty issue she had with Draco and that it would be over the second her fingers clasped the Snitch.

But if anything the triumphant look on her face when she managed to shove past Draco and catch it by mere millimeters was sickening and Hermione had been infuriated since.

And Lavender's perkiness wasn't doing much to help her anger subside.

"Who spiked your morning juice with happy pills?" Hermione asked cuttingly. She gave her a disdainful look and looked away to the door of the pub. Neither of the teams had shown up yet, and right now there was only one person she wanted to see.

"What's gotten into you? You've been very-" Ron struggled to find the right word,"-odd."

"Ye 'Mione what's up?" Harry pressed, giving her a concerning look. He knew that the situation between Hermione, Ron and Lavender hadn't been the best since before Halloween, but this went a lot deeper than that. Something else was bothering Hermione, and as her best friend, Harry felt the need to help.

"Yes Hermione, do share," Lavender added, leaning forward and placing her chin in her palm and acting like she was really interested.

Hermione gave a defeated sigh. What could she say?

'Ron I hate your sister because she went back on her promise and set me up today and has possibly made Draco hate me and I have no idea what to do?' No she couldn't say that.

"It's nothing, it's just I-" she stopped mid sentence, why had she started to say something when she didn't know how to finish it? They were all looking at her expectantly. Well, Harry was. To be honest Ron looked bored as hell and that he couldn't wait until the Gryffindor team showed up. And Lavender just looked…_menacing._ The smile – or sneer – she was giving Hermione said that she knew a lot more than anyone else did and Hermione didn't like that.

Call it a control-freak paranoia thing from knowing everything all the time, but Hermione hated it when someone knew more than her about something. Especially seeing as it was Lavender.

She looked away from her and fixed her eyes on her glass. What was she going to say? She shouldn't have said anything in the first place but now she was in trouble. She wasn't prepared to lie, heck, she couldn't lie to save herself! She needed an escape, anything, anything at al-

The door to the pub swung open, bringing with it a gust of icy wind and snow before several people kitted out in red and gold emerged from the blizzard. They crowded into the pub, still dressed in their Quidditch robes and brushed the snow and water off of their faces. Everyone cheered when they entered, everyone except Hermione who could only glare at the person who led them in.

Ginny didn't seem to notice the death glares that were being cast her way, she was reveling too much in the memory of seeing Malfoy's face fall when she caught the Snitch! Oh how good it felt to get him back after stealing her best friend from her.

Her excitement was quickly crushed however as the door was pushed open again and the cheers ceased as a surge of green and silver flooded the pub.

"Well speak of the Devil," she muttered as Draco pushed his flaxen hair that was dripping with snowflakes out of his eyes and purposefully shook it like a dog, casting water over the Gryffindor team and Ginny in particular.

Behind the Slytherin team came other students, the first of which being Theodore Nott. He'd been looking for Pansy all day and still clasped the single red rose he'd fetched early that morning for her.

As his eyes searched the pub they passed over Potter's table, where he saw Lavender staring at him with wide eyes. She was a weird one, he thought and pushed through the celebrating students and not-so-celebrating students to begin his search.

However Pansy's reaction wasn't the only weird one over at their table. As much as she'd almost passed out from shock seeing Theo walk in (she hadn't been expecting to see him _at all_ and feared that his presence would blow her plan), Hermione's had been even more unexpected.

Her eyes had been sparking with anger the second she'd set sight on Ginny, and her beer glass had even began shaking – that's how angry she was. But the second she'd seen Draco, a calming effect washed over her before the fear settled in and she pushed stool back, her eyes fixed on Draco.

"I- I need to go…" she muttered before half-walking, half-running away through the crowded pub. She felt several pairs of curious eyes on her, but most of all she felt his. She didn't need to look behind her to know that he was following her, and she knew that he'd push through the crowds to follow her up the rickety wooden stairs behind the Bar.

She continued her brisk walk all the way down the narrow hallway, the music and cheering from downstairs drowning out the sound of her frantic footsteps.

At then end of the hallway there was a narrow window that looked onto the street below. If it were any other time she would have stayed and admired the snow falling outside, but right now she just wanted to get somewhere private that she could talk to Draco and say what needed to be said.

Thankfully there was an empty room on the right and she quickly ducked into it and lit a few candles with her wand. In the dim candlelight and the palid glow of the moon that filtered through the small windows she could make out a large round table in the centre with chairs round about it.

She reasoned that it must be a Meeting room of some sort. When she heard the door click closed behind her she turned around to be greeted by a stern-faced Draco. His lips were pressed into a hard line and he seemed to be holding back something.

As he stepped closer to her out of the shadows she could see that his hands were balled up into fists at his side and he looked on the verge of angry tears.

'Oh Merlin, I've blown it' she groaned to herself.

"Draco I-"

But Draco's lips silencing her with his promptly cut her off. She stood frozen for a second as she felt his lips move frantically against hers and his fingers weaved into the curls at the back of her head. He felt her tense under him and he pulled away, a questioning look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Although he asked it quietly, the whisper seemed all too loud for the tension-filled room.

She gazed back at him perplexed. "Aren't you angry?"

He only blinked at her before he cupped her chin and began rubbing his thumb in soothing circles on her cheek.

"Why would I be angry at you?"

Was this actually happening? Suddenly the lid she'd been keeping on her emotions seemed to explode and Draco was met with a waterfall of emotions.

"Because I messed things up! I walked right into Ginny's trap! I'm so sorry Draco, you have t understand that I didn't know I was going there to support Gryffindor over Slytherin! If I'd known I wouldn't have gone at all and only met you here afterwards! I promise I-"

"Hermione love, calm down," he soothed as he placed his hands on her shoulders and guided her backwards to sit on the edge of the table.

"I-I'm sorry Draco," she sniffled, and only then did she realize she was crying.

"Don't be, I don't blame you for anything that happened today," he told her, and he pulled her close and buried his face in her hair.

"But you should!" she protested and gave a little hiccup as she pulled away and looked up at him. His stormy eyes were the definition of confusion and she gave an aggravated groan and threw her hands up in the air. "You got hit by a Bludger Draco _because of me_," she enunciated each word slowly.

He just looked at her for a moment before his smooth forehead wrinkled and his eyebrows furrowed. He began shaking his head and lowered his head to look her better in the eyes.

"That had nothing to do with you, that was entirely between me and the Weaslette- sorry, Ginny-" he corrected himself and hurried on,"-I don't blame you at all," he repeated, and looked in her eyes the whole time he said it.

His words seemed to sink in more now that he was staring in her eyes so intently, but this time it was her turn for her forehead to furrow in confusion.

"But-but the way you looked when you came in, you looked…angry, you looked close to tea-"

He placed a single finger on her lips and his eyes drifted down to his shoulder.

"That was because of my shoulder Love, it's not been healed at all yet," he said and winced as a sharp twinge fired through his upper body. Merlin, he hated the Weasels for inflicting this injuries upon him!

"Y-your shoulder…" she repeated, and her eyes locked on it. Now that she was looking at it, she remembered the incident from the Quidditch game and it truly sunk in how much it hurt. His left shoulder was sagged, as though it was too painful to even hold up properly and that's when she noticed his left arm was limp and hanging by his side too. "I'm so sorry, please, let me help?" she begged more than asked.

Although letting her see his injuries was the last thing he wanted for her to see, he needed it to be treated, badly. He remembered how well she'd looked after him the last time he'd been injured at the hands of a Weasley before and if she could do the same now, then he'd gladly welcome it.

He pressed his mouth into a tight line to stop him from grunting in pain and gave a stiff nod, and with that she pushed herself off the table and guided him backwards to lean against it gently. Once he was comfortably positioned she began removing his shirt.

It wasn't the same as the last time she'd done this for him, they were no longer in that awkward stage anymore when they hadn't been sure what they were. Her fingers were no longer hesitant in undoing the clasps on his Quidditch Robes and when it came to removing his under shirt she did so quickly and smoothly.

Her reaction to his injuries however were exactly the same, and it took all of her will power not to run downstairs and throttle Ginny senseless.

From the looks of it he did indeed have a broken shoulder that had possibly badly damaged his arm too. He tried to grab the table as a release for his pain, but a sharp pang shot through his hand and he thought better of it.

She wasn't entirely sure if it would do any good, given the extent of his wounds, but nonetheless she muttered 'Episkey' over and over again until the sickening cracking sounds were muffled and not so agonizing anymore. She continued to wave her wand down the full length of his arm, and was glad to see some of the bruising beginning to subside around his bicep. Once she was done, she summoned a roll of bandages to tie themselves around his chest, shoulder and bicep. Ever so gently, she leaned forward and kissed the spot on his shoulder where the bruising had been the worst and whispered, "All better."

He breathed a sigh of relief and was glad that when he wriggled his left fingers that there was no sharp pangs, nor was there the throbbing in his shoulder or the violent twinges throughout his upper body.

"Thank you," he breathed against her lips and kissed them before pulling her in for a hug and kissing her forehead. He had been planning on telling her his secret then, the thing he had been trying so hard to hide – but how could he even bare to let her go? He knew that telling her would be the end of them, and he simply couldn't bear it, so with that thought in mind he pushed it to the furthest corner of his consciousness and left it there, until such time as he was stupid enough to act on it.

"It's nothing, I'm just glad you're ok," she sighed against his bare chest and she felt him shudder. She smiled to herself and looked up at him as he brushed some of the matted curls out of her face and she stroked his cheek. The snow falling outside was causing odd patterns to dance along the wall that was barely illuminated by the candlelight.

She reached up on her tiptoes to kiss him and he responded eagerly, wrapping his newly-healed arm around her waist and pulling her close while the other played with the curls that dangled around the nape of her neck.

They were so alone, so secluded in such a peaceful setting that she couldn't think of a better time than to tell her what had been on her mind all day. The thing she had wanted to tell him since she'd woken up that morning by his side.

"Draco, I lo-"

Just then the door was kicked open, and everything changed for the worst. All of the candles in the room flicked on, causing Draco's bare skin to almost shine in their light. She pulled away quickly and turned on her heel to see who had interrupted them.

Never had she expected to see who was standing at the door. With three other people.

"Hermione, what the FUCK IS GOING ON?"


End file.
